>Professor Moriarty's convoluted scheme to steal the Crown Jewels from the Tower of London in The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes was probably inspired by real attempts to seize the priceless gems over the years. Probably the most famous heist attempt occurred in 1671 and was engineered by an Irishman, Colonel Thomas Blood. At that time, the Crown Jewels could be viewed by anyone paying a fee to the custodian of the Tower where they were housed. Pretending to be a parson traveling with his wife (who was merely a female accomplice), Mr. and Mrs. Blood were allowed to view the jewels by Talbot Edwards, the 77-year-old Tower custodian.

>Blood would later return to the Tower to present Edwards and his wife with a gift in appreciation for the viewing. This led to more social visits until Blood was considered a friend of the family. He even proposed a marriage arrangement to them; he would present his (fictitious) nephew for the hand of the Edwards' daughter. The plot unfolded on May 9, 1671, when Blood, accompanied by the false nephew and two companions visited Edwards at the Tower while his wife prepared dinner for them. Convincing Edwards to show them the jewels, they overpowered the elderly man and bound and gagged him. Then they looted the jewels with Blood using a mallet to flatten out St. Edward's Crown in order to smuggle it out underneath his coat. Allegedly, the theft was interrupted by the arrival of Edwards' son Wythe, who had just returned home from military service. Blood and his men attempted to escape but were apprehended. Strangely enough, neither Blood nor his three accomplices were imprisoned. In fact, King Charles, for reasons which have never been made clear, released the men and granted Blood a pardon, giving him land in Ireland as additional compensation. Blood would later become a regular visitor to the Royal Court and entertain visitors to the Tower with tales of his famous attempted theft.