While the real Crown Jewels remain heavily guarded at the Tower of London, the jewellery from Netflix’s cult historical drama The Crown isn’t so lucky.
During production for the upcoming fifth season of the hit series, 350 antique items including a replica Fabergé egg, a grandfather clock face and crystal glassware valuing almost $280,000AUD—or £150,000—were stolen during an on-set van raid.
According to reports three vehicles were raided in Yorkshire while the cast was filming a scene nearby.
Fortunately, the props were imitations of the valuable family heirlooms, one of which was acquired in 1933 by Queen Elizabeth’s grandfather, King George V, which is set to appear in scenes starring Imelda Staunton.
As per Variety, Netflix have sourced replacements and have “no expectation that filming will be held up”, with the season still set to be released later this year.
Given how notoriously vocal The Crown fans are about their eagerness to see the show return, we wonder if the Queen herself played a role in sourcing these substitutes… stranger things have happened.
Netflix also shared a comprehensive list of what was stolen, should locals notice the items up for sale.
The Crown’s set director, Allison Harvey revealed to The Antiques Trade Gazette following the robbery that the items “are not necessarily in the best condition and therefore of limited value for resale. However, they are valuable as pieces to the UK film industry.”
The South Yorkshire police also issued a statement to Variety regarding their investigation and current findings.
The testimony reads:
“Police were called at 4.30pm on Wednesday 16 February following a report of theft from vehicles at Pastures Road, Doncaster. It is reported that three vehicles containing props used in film and TV were broken into and a number of items taken. Officers investigated the incident but all existing lines of enquiry have now been exhausted. The case has been filed pending any new lines of enquiry.”
The upcoming season will chronicle the royal family in the 1990s, including the Queen’s annus horribilis, Prince Charles and Princess Diana’s divorce and explore Prince William and Harry as teenagers.
Although this Crown Jewel heist is worthy to be its own Netflix thriller, we’re glad to see that no one was hurt and the show is on track for it’s November release date. God knows we’ve waited long enough.
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