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Blessed to the heist - 14th June 2021
A haul of gold and silver artefacts valued at upwards of £1 million has been snatched from a castle in Sussex, on England’s south coast.
The precious booty looted from the thousand year old private residence included Mary Queen of Scot’s gold rosary beads. The devout Catholic monarch is depicted clutching the rosary as she is beheaded in paintings of her execution at Fotheringham Castle in 1587, aged 44.
The Arundel Castle heist came less than a week after it had opened its doors to the public following the loosening of Covid restrictions. Reports emerged from Sussex Police that entry had been made via a window and a glass cabinet smashed open to swipe the artefacts.
A spokesman for Arundel Castle noted that the rosary, though made of gold, had "little intrinsic value as metal" – it was "irreplaceable" by virtue of its historical status.
Historical background provided by Professor Kate Williams of Reading University explained that a futile attempt to regain her Scottish throne led Mary to seek refuge with her cousin, Elizabeth I despite also having designs on the English throne. However, the danger she posed to Elizabeth grew too large to ignore, resulting in a warrant for her death and her swift execution.
After her flight from Scotland and her eventual beheading, few of her personal effects were kept, as Williams describes: "When Mary fled Scotland into England most of her belongings were despoiled and shared out. Then after she was executed, nearly everything she had was taken and burned because people were concerned she would turn into a Catholic martyr. So we had one tiny memorial of Mary Queen of Scots - and now it has gone."
A criminology professor at the University of Brighton remarked on the "surprising amount" of thefts which targeted "antiquities or cultural artefacts", explaining that historic houses were often the focus of such activity. Their weaker security systems allowed organised criminals operating in the private collectors’ market to obtain items of priceless historical value to provide to super rich antiquarians. Their spoils would remain out of public view until reclaimed by law enforcement.
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