Swedish royal crowns stolen, thieves escaped on a speedboat
Wed Aug 01, 2018 08:26:am Gist
2.6K By Obiaks Blog
The Swedish royal family's crown jewels have been stolen from a cathedral by two suspects who escaped by speedboat.
The priceless jewels – including two crowns belonging to King Karl IX, who reigned in the 17th century – were taken from Strängnäs Cathedral in southeastern Sweden where they had been on display.
Witnesses described seeing police chase the suspects by boat after the royal jewels were stolen from locked glass boxes while the cathedral was open to the public.
Police have not yet made any arrests, with spokesman Thomas Agnevik telling reporters in Sweden: ‘It's 1-0 to them right now.
‘I have talked to someone at the county administrative board that says it is not possible to put an economic value on them – these are invaluable objects of national interest.
‘We are looking for a small and open motorboat.
‘We have some different information about how exactly the boat looked. We are now examining all the tips we receive.'
He added: ‘By boat you can reach Mälaren, Köping or Arboga in the west, or Västerås, Eskilstuna or Stockholm if you drive east.'
Karl IX was the King of Sweden from 1604 until his death in 1611. The two crowns are burial crowns dating from 1611 which were later exhumed and put on display.
The irreplaceable items were made with gold, pearls and precious stones.
Christofer Lundgren, dean of the cathedral, said: ‘This is part of the national cultural heritage – this is a theft from Swedish society.'
Eyewitness Tom Rowsell, who is getting married at the cathedral this weekend, described seeing two people running to a ‘little white boat with a motor on the back'.
‘The two men hurriedly jumped on board. We contacted the police and told them and they told us they had taken something from the cathedral,' he told Aftonbladet.
‘I knew immediately they were burglars because of the way they were behaving.
‘The girls said it was odd, in this small quiet town but the fact that the boat was waiting, it was obvious to me that they were burglars.
‘I think it's awful, it's despicable that people would steal from a holy building and take something of historic and monetary value. I hope the police succeed in finding them.'
Nobody was hurt during the raid.
METRO UK
The priceless jewels – including two crowns belonging to King Karl IX, who reigned in the 17th century – were taken from Strängnäs Cathedral in southeastern Sweden where they had been on display.
Witnesses described seeing police chase the suspects by boat after the royal jewels were stolen from locked glass boxes while the cathedral was open to the public.
Police have not yet made any arrests, with spokesman Thomas Agnevik telling reporters in Sweden: ‘It's 1-0 to them right now.
‘I have talked to someone at the county administrative board that says it is not possible to put an economic value on them – these are invaluable objects of national interest.
‘We are looking for a small and open motorboat.
‘We have some different information about how exactly the boat looked. We are now examining all the tips we receive.'
He added: ‘By boat you can reach Mälaren, Köping or Arboga in the west, or Västerås, Eskilstuna or Stockholm if you drive east.'
Karl IX was the King of Sweden from 1604 until his death in 1611. The two crowns are burial crowns dating from 1611 which were later exhumed and put on display.
The irreplaceable items were made with gold, pearls and precious stones.
Christofer Lundgren, dean of the cathedral, said: ‘This is part of the national cultural heritage – this is a theft from Swedish society.'
Eyewitness Tom Rowsell, who is getting married at the cathedral this weekend, described seeing two people running to a ‘little white boat with a motor on the back'.
‘The two men hurriedly jumped on board. We contacted the police and told them and they told us they had taken something from the cathedral,' he told Aftonbladet.
‘I knew immediately they were burglars because of the way they were behaving.
‘The girls said it was odd, in this small quiet town but the fact that the boat was waiting, it was obvious to me that they were burglars.
‘I think it's awful, it's despicable that people would steal from a holy building and take something of historic and monetary value. I hope the police succeed in finding them.'
Nobody was hurt during the raid.
METRO UK
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