Queen Camilla fell victim to thieves who stole a bag containing her personal jewellery during a stop at a motorway service station, according to revelations in a new royal biography.
The Service Station Security Breach
The incident occurred in 2022 as King Charles and Queen Camilla prepared to travel to Canada for a three-day official visit. The tour was part of the late Queen Elizabeth II's Platinum Jubilee celebrations, but began with what royal author Robert Jobson describes as a "rocky start."
According to Jobson's book Windsor Legacy: A Royal Dynasty, the theft took place at Beaconsfield Services located off Junction 2 of the M40 motorway in Buckinghamshire. Three royal aides had stopped for a break when the opportunistic theft occurred.
The author reveals that one aide stepped away for a cigarette while the other two went inside to purchase coffees. During this brief window, a local gang targeted the unattended vehicle containing a bag clearly labelled 'HRH The Duchess of Cornwall'.
Swift Recovery and Cover-Up
MI5 security services were immediately dispatched to the location following the discovery of the theft. Using CCTV footage from the service station area, investigators successfully traced the culprits and recovered Camilla's jewellery within hours.
Senior royal insiders expressed amazement that news of the security breach never reached the public domain. Jobson states that no charges were filed and no police report was ever officially made. The incident was reportedly buried to avoid potential embarrassment to the royal household.
Buckingham Palace has maintained its standard position regarding such matters, declining to comment on the allegations made in the book.
Historical Context of Royal Security Incidents
This isn't the first time members of the royal family have faced security threats from criminals. In a notorious incident from March 1974, armed assailant Ian Ball attempted to kidnap Princess Anne as she travelled through London with her then-husband Mark Phillips.
The princess famously responded to Ball's demands with the words "not bloody likely" when he ordered her from the vehicle. The attempted kidnapping resulted in police officers being shot before retired heavyweight boxer Ronnie Russell intervened to subdue Ball.
Ball was subsequently sectioned under the Mental Health Act and spent 45 years in psychiatric hospitals before his believed release in 2019. Princess Anne was reportedly furious about the incident, particularly as her favourite blue velvet gown was torn during a struggle with her would-be kidnapper.
Another significant security breach occurred in 1981 when Christopher John Lewis allegedly plotted to assassinate Queen Elizabeth during her visit to Dunedin. Official documents released in 2018 confirmed that Lewis had originally intended to kill the monarch, though he lacked both a suitable vantage point and sufficiently powerful rifle for the range.
Lewis died in custody in 1997 while awaiting trial for murder in a separate case.
