After Thomas Blood was caught trying to steal the Crown Jewels, most people would have expected a brutal punishment.

Instead, King Charles II did something almost unbelievable: he pardoned him.

No one knows for certain why. Some think Charles admired Blood’s nerve. Others wonder if Blood knew something useful, or if the king had political reasons for keeping him alive.

Whatever the reason, the ending is what makes the story so strange. Blood did not just fail at one of the boldest robberies in English history. He survived it and somehow walked away with royal mercy.