Queen's servant jailed for stealing royal memorabilia from Buckingham Palace

A servant to the Queen Elizabeth II was jailed after stealing royal memorabilia worth up to £100,000 from Buckingham Palace.

Adamo Canto, 37, swiped dozens of items including signed pictures of Prince William and Kate Middleton and a photo album of the banquet held for Donald Trump's state visit, Daily Mail reported.

The catering assistant flogged some of the stolen items, which had a total value of between £10,000 and £100,000, on online auction site eBay for a fraction of their worth.  

He made more than £7,700 from selling 37 royal items - including a Companion of the Order of the Bath medal belonging to retired Navy vice-admiral Sir Anthony Johnstone-Burt, the Queen's Master of the Household, which he sold on the auction website for £350.

When police clocked onto Canto's thieving and searched his quarters at the Royal Mews in Buckingham Palace, they found a 'significant quantity' of stolen items from the royal residence, a court heard.

Canto, from Scarborough, North Yorkshire, admitted three counts of theft by an employee and was today sentenced to eight months in prison.

Westminster Magistrates' Court heard how Canto, who had worked in the kitchens at Buckingham Palace since 2015, stole the items between November 2019 and August 2020.

Some 77 items were taken from the palace shop, while others were stolen from staff lockers, the linen room, the Royal Collection ticket office, the Queen's Gallery shop and the Duke of York's storeroom.

Among the stolen items were a brooch, two gold pocket watch necklaces and a Buckingham Palace Limited Edition pocket watch.

He also swiped a Commander of the Royal Victorian Order belonging to retired British Army officer Major General Matthew Sykes, who served in the Royal Household from 2007 to 2010.

Other luxury belongings traced back to Canto included a Tiffany's sterling pen, silk pyjamas, cufflinks and even a bespoke Samsung mobile phone manufactured for the Duke of York.

The personalised handset, titled 'world's first folding mobile phone,' was sold to a buyer in the US for less than £600 and is one of 65 items which remain un-recovered.