The story of the robber Thomas Blood, pardoned by the king for the most stupid robbery

British law has always been harsh on criminals, especially those who encroached on royal property. An attempt to rob the treasury or assassinate the monarch was followed by an inevitable execution, often intricate and extremely cruel. But even in such a strict order, there were exceptions. The story of Thomas Blood, a daring adventurer of the 17th century, is a good example. He risked robbing the royal treasury in the Tower, but instead of severe punishment, he received from the king... a pardon. And all because this stupid crime made the king laugh with its absurdity.

The protagonist of this story accidentally found himself on the path of crime, but quickly acquired a taste for it and became a daring lawbreaker. Thomas Blood was born in 1618 in Ireland to a blacksmith's family. Having received a decent education and married a girl from a noble family, he began life as a wealthy landowner. But everything changed with the outbreak of the English Civil War in 1642.

At first, Blood sided with King Charles I, but quickly realized that the monarchists were losing and defected to the victorious supporters of Parliament led by Oliver Cromwell. This decision brought him wealth and the high position of a justice of the peace. However, his happy life did not last long - after the restoration of the monarchy in 1660, Blood found himself among the losers.

The return of King Charles II marked a new policy: peace was promised to the loyal supporters of Parliament, but only a few escaped vengeance. Blood lost all his privileges and was forced to flee to Ireland. There he planned an assassination attempt on the Duke of Ormond, the king's lieutenant who had confiscated his property. The attempt failed, his accomplices were executed, and Thomas himself fled to Holland.

In 1667, Blood returned to England under a false name and settled in the city of Romford. There, he posed as a doctor and even opened a practice, without having a medical education. Having assembled a new team of desperate men, Blood again tried to kill the Duke of Ormond and again failed. Driven to despair, Thomas, who was wanted as one of the most dangerous villains in the Kingdom, decided on a desperate step. He planned to rob... the royal treasury in the Tower fortress.

The symbols of royal power - the Crown of St. Edward, two sceptres, the orb, an ampoule with anointing oil, bracelets and a staff - were kept in the Tower. Under Cromwell, the historical regalia of the English kings were desecrated and melted down into ingots. Therefore, the fortress contained replicas made in 1660 and 1661 from 22-karat gold. But this did not bother Blood - he was interested in the treasures solely as scrap gold that could be resold profitably.

It must be said that the place where the royal valuables were kept was not guarded very carefully. The very idea of stealing the regalia seemed so blasphemous that it was not even allowed. The treasury was guarded by only one person - the keeper of the royal jewels Talbot Edwards, who lived in the same building with his family.

Thomas Blood, disguised as a priest, managed to strike up a friendship with Talbot Edwards. The men quickly found common ground, and Blood even suggested his "nephew" as a groom for the keeper's daughter. Edwards agreed, and the relationship between the friends became even warmer. They agreed that the meeting between the bride's father and the prospective groom would take place on May 9, 1671.

On the appointed day, Thomas Blood arrived at the Tower with his son and three accomplices. One of them introduced himself as his nephew, and the others as his friends. After friendly conversation and drinking, the guests unobtrusively asked Talbot Edwards to show them the royal regalia. While the "nephew" remained outside to keep an eye on the situation, the others went into the treasury to see the jewels.

As soon as Talbot Edwards opened the door to the room, he was hit on the head to immobilize him. But the blow was not strong enough, and the keeper quickly came to his senses. Then one of the criminals wounded him in the stomach with a sword. Fortunately, both wounds were not serious, which later played into Blood's hands.

Deciding not to take any chances, Edwards feigned death, lying motionless. Meanwhile, the attackers grabbed the royal regalia, but ran into an unexpected problem: the gold objects were too bulky. Thomas Blood immediately flattened the crown with a hammer he had brought with him, and his henchmen began sawing the scepter in half.

But, as you can see, Thomas Blood and luck are absolutely incompatible. An incredible coincidence ruined all the robbers' plans: at the moment when they were breaking the royal regalia, Talbot Edwards' eldest son returned to the Tower. He had just completed 10 years of military service and was home just in time to stop the criminals.

The "nephew" who was on duty in the yard noticed the danger and hurried to warn his accomplices. At that moment, one of Blood's comrades was stuffing the sawn-up jewels into his pants, and Thomas himself was wrapping what was left of the crown in his cloak. But then the treasure keeper suddenly showed up and attacked the confused bandits. Edwards' daughter came running to the noise and started calling for help, which completely demoralized the kidnappers. Their carefully thought-out plan was collapsing before their eyes.

The hapless robbers rushed away from the treasure vault, losing their precious loot. Accounts of how exactly they were caught vary. According to one version, the criminals were seized right at the gates of the Tower. Another version says that they were detained after a spectacular chase, accompanied by musket fire and a sword fight. Whatever the case, the criminals were unable to escape - they were detained.

The criminals who dared to encroach on the royal regalia were treated without leniency. Thomas Blood was subjected to a thorough interrogation, but he steadfastly endured the torture and refused to answer the interrogators' questions. Instead, he insisted on a personal meeting with the king, promising to tell his story only to him. Surprisingly, Charles II agreed to receive the criminal.

Charles II was probably intrigued by the story of the daring but extremely absurd robbery, and he wanted to see Thomas Blood in person. The robber and the monarch met, and the incredible happened - the king pardoned all the participants in the attack. Charles II was a cheerful man and loved all sorts of adventures himself. He had so many illegitimate children from his mistresses that they still cannot be sorted out.

The king is said to have laughed so hard at Thomas Blood's story that he nearly had a stroke. Immediately after the audience, the Irishman's shackles were removed, and an hour later he left the Tower with generous gifts. Blood had expected to be quartered, broken on the wheel, disemboweled, and boiled in oil for his "special" services, all in the same execution. Instead, the king granted the outlaw a vast estate, the right to attend court, and the position of the king's spy and informant.

But Thomas Blood's adventures did not end there. Until the end of his life, he was involved in some dubious affairs, intrigues and scandals. His last outburst was a serious insult to George Villiers, 2nd Duke of Buckingham in 1679. The aristocrat had been Blood's patron for many years and no one expected that they would quarrel.

It was not fitting for the Duke of Buckingham to fight a duel with a lowborn Irishman of more than dubious reputation. So Villiers sued Thomas and won. Blood was ordered to pay the insulted Duke an astronomical sum - 10 thousand pounds. But when Villiers' men, tired of waiting for money, came to Blood's home, they were told that he had died on August 24, 1680, at the age of 62.

Knowing Thomas as a rare rogue, the Duke ordered an exhumation. He was sure that the offender had simply run away to avoid paying, and the grave would be empty. To his surprise, when the coffin was opened, Thomas Blood himself was lying inside. Thus ended the life of the man who had committed the most daring and stupid robbery of the King of England.

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