Portugal’s crown jewels stolen in Holland

Six pieces belonging to Portuguese Royal Family were stolen at the Hague Museum in the Netherlands on Tuesday morning. While pieces belonging to France and Britain were also lost in what some are saying was an “inside job”, the loss, in terms of value, was the greatest for Portugal.

Six highly valuable pieces belonging to the Portuguese Royal Family were stolen from the Hague Museum to which it had been loaned for an exhibition. Due to their unique nature, experts have been unwilling to suggest a possible value for the jewels.
While the theft took place early Tuesday morning, the Portuguese government was only fully informed of the incident at a press conference a day after the assault on the museum.
According to the Portuguese Ministry of Culture, 15 pieces had been loaned to the museum, with the six most valuable (irreplaceable) pieces having been stolen.
This is the first occasion that any property belonging to the Portuguese Royal Family has ever been stolen.
“A tragic loss for Portugal” was how the Portuguese Minister of Culture, Pedro Roseta described the theft, which Dutch police say was executed by “professionals who knew which pieces were the most valuable”.
While the jewels were insured, and therefore had a value attached to them, the Minister refused to speculate on their value, saying it could hamper Interpol’s investigations into the incident.