Horror of Prince Andrew’s ex-lover in £1m gems raid at luxury home
a GLaMoroUs multi-millionaire who once dated Prince andrew told of her devastation last night after a masked burglar stole jewellery worth £1million from her home. Former model amanda staveley believes the raid on her £10million townhouse was an ‘inside job’.
The thief picked the lock on the front door and stole a jewellery box from the financier’s bedroom while she was giving her two-year-old son a bath.
He slipped past staff and was seen on a neighbour’s CCTV leaving the house wearing a rucksack thought to contain the box.
Miss staveley, 43, who is worth more than £100million, returned to her bedroom minutes later and saw the jewellery had gone.
although the box contained very expensive pieces, she was most upset about less valuable heirlooms of sentimental value.
she said: ‘I was heartbroken when I realised the jewellery box had been taken. I was destroyed, I was howling, I was sick.’
The £3,500 smythson box contained at least 20 pieces, including a Graff diamond necklace worth £400,000 and earrings also valued at £400,000. a black rolex Daytona watch worth £25,000 was also stolen. one of only 50, other owners include former Us president Bill Clinton.
But Miss staveley, who dated Prince andrew from 2001 until she refused his marriage proposal in 2003, is especially distraught about the theft of a bracelet and emerald ring owned by her mother Lynne, who died in 2015 at 65.
she is also devastated to have lost a diamond watch from her mother-in-law.
Miss staveley and her family live on two floors of their London house on Park Lane, and lease other floors to neighbours. after it was burgled at 6.49pm on February 9, the locks were changed. However, masked men then broke in on consecutive days this month, but left empty handed.
Miss staveley, who is offer- ing a £50,000 reward for the jewellery, fears the first raid was an inside job because the thief appeared to know her home’s CCTV and layout.
she said: ‘It was the most brazen attack. He went straight upstairs into my bedroom and was in and out in three minutes. I was bathing my son and my husband was in the lounge with the door shut. He felt a shadow pass the door and thought it was the housekeeper.’
she said the thief kept away from CCTV in her home and picked the brief period between the daytime security guard’s shift and when the evening guard came on duty.
‘It was carried out by someone with a lot of knowledge who must have known my routine,’ she added. It was timed to perfection.’ The fin- ancier, who studied at Cambridge, does not suspect current staff, but fears a former worker may be involved. she said: ‘I have my suspicions.’
During the second burglary, Miss staveley’s husband, Iranian- born Mehrdad Ghodoussi, confronted an intruder on the stairs, forcing him to flee with his accomplice.
Thieves tried to get into the house this month on a fourth occasion, but were scared away by the security guard.
Locksmiths then realised the thieves had used a device like to a credit card to flick the front door lock open. Miss staveley said: ‘We could see from the footage that he came in with a piece of card, rattled it and the door opened.’
The former young entrepreneur of the year made her fortune from advising investment banks through her firm PCP Capital Partners, which earned £29.5million from the rescue of Barclays during the banking crisis in 2008.
‘It was the most brazen attack’