A former servant of Queen Elizabeth pleaded guilty to stealing 77 items from Buckingham Palace, some of which were valuable, historic, and prestigious.
Adamo Canto, 37, has worked as a catering assistant in Buckingham since 2015. During the lockdown, the London police arrested him based on suspicions that he was hawking Palace items on the auction site eBay.
An inspection of his apartment at the Royal Mews, the Royal Household quarters in Buckingham, revealed a "significant quantity" of his loot, but not everything was recovered. Authorities said that Canto took items worth around $134,000 (£100,000), including a signed photo of Prince William and Kate Middleton, and the medal meant for the Commander of the Royal Victorian Order.
About 37 of these items were posted on eBay, which was later traced and confirmed to be tied to Canto's account. The thief was able to make a sale sometime in May while one of the complainants of the stolen goods attested in court that he saw his medal on the auction site.
Vice Admiral Master of the Household Tony Johnstone-Burt said in a statement that he realized the medal on eBay was his after discovering it was missing. Johnstone-Burt was supposed to wear the medal for a royal event, but the staff informed him that it'd been sold at an online auction for less than $500.
But the most expensive item Canto allegedly took was an album of the Royal State Banquet held for President Donald Trump's last state visit. The album is reportedly worth $2,000 (£1,500).
Canto hadn't been discreet about his loot as well since the items could be spotted on his TikTok videos. The police also searched his parents' home in Scarborough.
The man mostly snatched pieces from the Buckingham Palace's Royal Shop, but he was also able to swipe items from the Duke of York's storeroom, the Queen's Gallery, the linen room, the Royal Collection office, and even his co-workers' lockers. Apparently, he had more access around Buckingham Palace after he was assigned to additional cleaning duties at the height of the lockdown, per the Daily Mail.
The former Palace servant is currently free on bail because he admitted to his crime at the first opportunity, but he's due to receive sentencing with the Southwark Crown Court. Prosecutor Simon Maughan said that Canto would face time in prison regardless of the value of what he stole because a lot of these items are sentimental pieces.
