Captain Blood, The Man Who Stole the Crown Jewels – and Got Away With It
447 years ago, in an event that seems less like real history and more like a Monty Python sketch, a small band of men actually stole the Crown Jewels of England from the Tower of London. And—this is the crucial part—they came within inches of escaping with them. If the timing had been a little different, if a few strokes of luck had gone their way, there might have been a baffled monarch and a rather sheepish set of guards explaining how the nation’s most prized possessions had just walked out the front gate.
The tale of this audacious robbery is remarkable enough on its own. But the problem with simply telling the story is that you can’t do so without talking about the man who orchestrated it. And once you start explaining his story, you quickly realise that Captain Thomas Blood might just be the most astonishing rogue ever to have lived.
Without exaggeration, this was a man who, in a whirlwind decade, managed to be a soldier, magistrate, spy, revolutionary, action hero, religious extremist, con artist, master of disguise, highwayman, kidnapper, secret agent, criminal mastermind, and silver-tongued escape artist. He is, quite frankly, a bafflingly ridiculous combination of James Bond, Keyser Söze, Captain Jack Sparrow, and Professor Moriarty.
So, let’s dive into the absurdly eventful life of Captain Thomas Blood – the man who stole the Crown Jewels and somehow got rewarded for it.
A Name That’s Not Made Up
First off, let’s address the elephant in the room. Yes, his surname really was Blood. No, it wasn’t something he invented to sound more intimidating. The Blood family were well-established Protestant Anglo-Irish landowners in County Clare, respected members of society with a long history of service to the English crown. His father has been described as everything from a wealthy blacksmith to a steel mill owner to a landlord, so we can safely assume he was at least fairly well off.
Thomas Blood was born in Clare around 1618, but he was raised and educated in Lancashire, England. This is important because, while he is often referred to as an Irish rogue, he was Anglo-Irish. He likely considered himself part of a greater British kingdom, much like later figures such as the Duke of Wellington. So, while he was certainly proud of his Irish heritage, it’s doubtful he would have thought of himself as separate from England.
The War Hero Turned Revolutionary
Like many young men of his time, Blood’s early years were shaped by the English Civil War. When hostilities broke out in 1642, he initially supported the Royalist cause. However, he then did something that should have been a warning sign to everyone: he changed sides.
The common assumption is that he saw the Royalists losing and decided to hedge his bets. But a more plausible reason is that his father-in-law, an MP for Liverpool, was a staunch Parliamentarian and might have convinced him that the other side was in the right. Whatever the case, Blood proved himself an effective soldier, rising to the rank of Captain in Oliver Cromwell’s New Model Army.
For his service, he was rewarded with land and a position as a magistrate, setting him up for a comfortable life. He settled down, married an Englishwoman named Margaret Holcroft, and had at least five children. He seemed destined for a peaceful existence. Then, in 1660, the monarchy was restored, and everything went sideways.
Regime Change and Revenge Plots
When Charles II took the throne, he wasn’t exactly in a forgiving mood towards those who had supported the Commonwealth. Blood fled to Ireland, trying to keep a low profile. But then the king passed an Act of Settlement that stripped former Parliamentarians of their land and gave it back to the Royalists. Suddenly, Blood was 44 years old, bankrupt, and seething with rage.
Instead of, say, trying to start a business or moving to a quiet village, Blood did what any sensible person would do in his situation: he plotted to kidnap and ransom the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, James Butler, the Duke of Ormonde. The plan was to storm Dublin Castle, seize Ormonde, and hold him for ransom.
This, of course, did not go well. Government spies were onto him, the plot was foiled, and Blood was forced to flee into the Irish countryside, living as a fugitive. He became a master of disguise, spending time as a Catholic priest, an Anabaptist preacher, and even a Quaker, constantly evading capture. Eventually, he managed to escape to the Netherlands, where he immediately ingratiated himself with powerful figures in the Dutch Republic—because of course he did.
A Spy, A Kidnapper, and a Not-So-Great Assassin
During his time in Holland, Blood reportedly worked for the Dutch as an informant against England. When war broke out between the two countries, he was smuggled back into England, where he promptly made contact with radical groups plotting another uprising.
One of Blood’s favourite pastimes seemed to be kidnapping, and in 1670, he tried again—this time targeting his old enemy, the Duke of Ormonde. Blood and his gang ambushed Ormonde’s coach in London, overpowered his guards, tied him up, and attempted to drag him to the gallows at Tyburn for an impromptu execution. Unfortunately for Blood, Ormonde managed to escape, and the plot fell apart. Still, Blood and his men vanished into the night like criminal masterminds.
But his greatest crime was yet to come.
The Heist of the Crown Jewels
In May 1671, Blood came up with his most daring scheme yet: stealing the Crown Jewels from the Tower of London. His plan was laughably audacious. OK so this was the plan. Blood would don a new disguise- in this case he would pose as a doctor of divinity with a middle aged wife.
He recruited an actress to pose as his wife (as his real wife was by now living up with her family in Lancashire and apparently unwell).
The couple would visit the Tower of London (which was allowed) posing as a respectable member of the public and ask to see the Crown Jewels. Understand the Crown Jewels at the time were brand new.
Oliver Cromwell had destroyed the old Crown Jewels some years previously, and James II had had this new set remade for his coronation. They were actually kept in a store room behind an iron grill; the man charged with protecting them (called Talbot Edwards) could earn some money on the side allowing people gaze at them from behind the grill.
When visiting Edwards, the actress would fake feeling unwell. Blood would asked for help. If they were lucky, Mrs Edwards would offer to help her. Either way, Edwards would help the wife and Blood would act grateful and tell the Edwards what awesome people they were and above all that he owed them for this kindness.
Then after a bit, they would leave. The plan was to then wait a few days and have Blood would turn up at Edwards house with four pairs of expensive white gloves as a gift to thank Mr & Mrs Edwards for their kindness and use this to begin a friendship with the couple. Blood was to gain the trust of the Edwards family and to seriously build upon it.
He was to even arrange for an engagement between Edwards daughter and an imaginary son. Basically, he quickly became a close friend of the family. When this was done the final stage of the robbery was to go into effect.
Late one evening, Blood was to turn up and say he had two friends visiting him and the friends had to return home early the next morning and would Edwards be willing to allow his friends just come have a quick look at the Crown Jewels- yes it was late, but it would be such a favour..
When Edwards agreed, Blood would turn up a little bit later with his 'friends' (actually a silk-dyer from Southwark called Parrot and his son in law Tom Hunt), with another member of the team (a young man called Richard Holloway) waiting outside with getaway horses. Chances are these guys were the crew who had tried to kidnap Ormonde.
The plan was to have Edwards open the room with the Jewels in, subdue him, snag the Crown Jewels, and make a break for it. This was the plan. And on May 9th 1671? The whole plan came together.
Perfectly.
Right up until the last minute.
Parrot, Hunt and Blood got into the room; their definition of subduing Edwards however, was to throw a blanket over him, smash him on the head with a huge mallet and stab him with stiletto knives a few times. They were not pissing around.
They then discovered that the Jewels were too bulky to easily carry. So Parrot began sawing the Rod in half; Blood took the mallet and beat the Crown down flat so he could hide it under his cloak and Hunt took the Royal Orb and stuffed it down his trousers.
Supposedly according to some, they were having to shove gem stones into their boots in a mad rush to grab it all before fleeing.
Unfortunately, at the exact time this was happening Edward's eldest son, Wythe, was returning home after a decade or so serving in the armed forces; young Wythe was coming back with his commanding officer (one Captain Beckman) and they happened to arrive JUST as Blood and Parrot and Hunt were leaving.
At the same time, Edwards recovered and began screaming and his daughter began screaming and the thieves panicked and ran. A mad chase started. Remember Edwards home was within the confines of the Tower of London. Blood and his crew still had to get passed two gates to get to the getaway horses. Both were guarded by armed soldiers.
Now being chased, Blood and co had to fight their way out. They came to the first gate and the soldier on duty moved to intercept them. Blood pulled a gun and shot.
The bullet missed but the soldier threw himself prone and the three thieves ran past him. As they came to the second gate the soldier there saw them but made no move to stop them.
He had just seen what appeared to be the first guard shot dead, so while he fired his rifle at the robbers, he missed and let them past... Blood and his team had made it out of the castle and onto the drawbridge... when Captain Beckman (who had been chasing him since he burst out of Edwards house) caught up with him... Blood pulled a second pistol, aimed it at the captains head and fired.
Blackman ducked under the shot and tackled Blood causing the now flat Crown to fall onto the floor... Parrot was seized and Hunt was only spared being run through with a sword wielded by Edwards son by Beckman clearly wanted them all alive... Eventually after a prolonged fist fight, Blood surrendered and was arrested.
The Prisoner
Captain Thomas Blood was now locked up in the self-same Tower of London. This has to be it we think. His extraordinary adventure now has to end? Years on the run, wanted for a host of crimes, and now this?
Blood however refused to talk to anyone. Anyone that is, except the King himself. Which was of course absurd.
There is no way King Charles II, King of England and Scotland would ever agree to meet this known revolutionary/spy/duelist/thief right? Well, not unless the kings favourite, the 2nd Duke of Buckingham was basically telling the king, 'Look, you simply have to meet this guy- he is unbelievable' non stop for months.
Eventually the king relented and Blood was brought in chains to meet the King and Prince Rupert as well as others.
The Greatest Trick the Devil ever pulled...
What happens next is truly extraordinary. Blood impressed the King so much that Charles II forgave him.
He not only forgave him- he offered him lands worth 500 pounds a year in income. He not only gave him that, he gave him a pension which by itself would have been enough for him to live comfortably on.
By comparison Talbot Edwards received £300 in compensation and even that wasn't paid fully. To say the Duke of Ormonde was disgusted by this, would be an understatement.
Instantly the treatment of Blood caused huge gossip around London. How the hell did he get away with this? And the theories abounded. Some said it was his funny/roguish demeanour; he had joked with James, and his charismatic manner won the king over.
Others that the King was worried that executing Blood would cause a revolt. But in truth one has to ask- given that every single one of his schemes had failed, given that he was always loyal to Buckingham?
That behind the scenes Blood was identified as a secret agent, an agent provocateur, working for the English crown to infiltrate and subvert the many and varied threats against the newly restored monarchy.
Perhaps he was rewarded for a decades hard work as a double agent, seemingly walking between the raindrops, and living a life shrouded in shadow. It's not all this stuff we know about him that was the key to his story- but the huge mysterious gaps in his tale. Whatever the true reason, Blood had gone from criminal to mythic figure in a day.
The Legend Captain
Thomas Blood spent the next decade or so basically as a charismatic member of the royal court.
He specialised in being available for people who wished to petition the king, gaining influence and favour. In the end he seems to have fallen foul of court politics and eventually the Duke of Buckingham turned against him. Blood was jailed because of a £10,000 law suit unleashed upon him by his former patron and while released on bail, suddenly got sick and died on Wednesday August 24th 1680.
And thus the story ends.
Actually it doesn't. You see this is Thomas Blood we are talking about here. And by now his exploits were well known. And people began asking- 'wait a second; he suddenly gets sick and dies JUST as he was about to get hit by a massive law suit?
Are you sure he is actually dead?' So great was the skepticism, so famed with his skill at deception, that eventually they decided to check. So they dug him up just to make sure he had really, finally died... The body was his.
Secure in the knowledge that Blood was finally, unable to give them the slip anymore, they returned him to the ground and his epic tale finally ends.
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