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Queen Camilla's jewellery was reportedly snatched by thieves at a motorway service station. The alleged incident happened as she and King Charles prepared to fly to Canada for a three-day visit in 2022. The Royal couple were due to travel across the Atlantic as part of the late Queen Elizabeth II's Platinum Jubilee celebrations. However, Royal author Robert Jobson claims the tour began with a "rocky start" after Camilla fell victim to an opportunistic local gang. According to the writer, the criminals managed to steal a bag belonging to Camilla whilst Royal aides stopped for a break at a service station. In his book, Windsor Legacy: A Royal Dynasty, the author writes: "At Beaconsfield Services, located off Junction 2 of the M40 motorway in Buckinghamshire, Camilla's jewels were stolen after three royal aides left the bag, labelled 'HRH The Duchess of Cornwall', unattended in an unlocked car. Read more Prince Harry offers 'olive branch' to William hours before awkward diary clash "A local gang struck when one aide stepped away for a cigarette while the other two were inside getting coffees.", reports the Mirror . Jobson alleges MI5 were quickly sent to the location and successfully traced the culprits using CCTV footage from the area. He states her jewellery was retrieved within hours. Senior Royal insiders were reportedly "amazed" that news of the incident never reached the public domain. The author adds: "No charges were filed, no police report was ever made, and the incident was buried to avoid embarrassment." Buckingham Palace declined to comment on the allegations made by Jobson. The Queen isn't the only member of the Royal Family who has faced threats from criminals over the years. In a notorious incident in March 1974, armed assailant Ian Ball attempted to kidnap Princess Anne. During the botched attempt, which saw Ball shoot police officers, the Princess Royal famously told him it was "not bloody likely" she would go with him. This happened as he chased the limousine carrying the princess and her then-husband Mark Phillips through the streets of London and onto the Mall. He was eventually subdued by retired heavyweight boxer Ronnie Russell. Ball was later sectioned under the Mental Health Act and spent 45 years in Broadmoor and Rampton psychiatric hospitals. It's believed he was released in 2019. Anne was reportedly "furious" about the incident, which resulted in her favourite blue velvet gown being torn during a "tug of war" with Ball. In 1981, Christopher John Lewis allegedly plotted to assassinate Queen Elizabeth and other royals. He is said to have fired a weapon as the Queen visited Dunedin. Documents released in 2018 revealed that police and bystanders heard "what they took to be a shot", leading to Lewis's arrest. According to official documents cited by the BBC : "Lewis did indeed originally intend to assassinate the Queen," but he "did not have a suitable vantage point from which to fire, nor a sufficiently high-powered rifle for the range". Lewis died in custody while awaiting trial for murder in a separate case in 1997.
