Colonel Thomas Blood, disguised as a clergyman, attempts to steal the Crown Jewels from the Tower of London.

He is immediately caught because he is too drunk to run with the loot.

Following his capture Blood refuses to answer to anyone but the king and is consequently taken to the palace, bound in chains, where he is questioned by King Charles, Prince Rupert, the Duke of York, and other members of the royal family.

The King asks Blood, "What if I should give you your life?" and Blood replies humbly, "I would endeavor to deserve it, Sire!"

To the disgust of Lord Ormonde, Blood is not only pardoned, but also given land in Ireland worth five hundred pounds a year.

The reasons for the king's pardon are unknown.

Some historians have speculated that the king may have feared an uprising in revenge by followers of Blood, who are thought to have taken an oath to their leader.

Others speculate that the king had a fondness for audacious scoundrels such as Blood, and that he was amused by the Irishman's claim that the jewels were worth only six thousand pounds as opposed to the one hundred thousand pounds at which the Crown had valued them.

There is also a suggestion that the king was flattered and amused by Blood's revelation that he had previously intended to kill the king while Charles was bathing in the Thames but had been swayed otherwise, having found himself in "awe of majesty.

It has also been suggested that his actions may have had the connivance of the king himself, because the king was very short of money at the time.