* On February 17, 1920, a young woman was pulled out of a canal in Berlin. She spent several months in a mental hospital and over a year after her suicide attempt, she identified herself as Anastasia, the youngest daughter of Czar Nicholas of Russia.

The mysterious young woman gave information about the royal family and Anastasia’s life that could only have been known by someone who was closely associated with the family. Besides that, she had scars from a bullet and bayonet wound and a foot deformity that had been described by Anastasia’s doctor a short time before the royal family were murdered.

The young woman took the name Anna Anderson to escape media attention. She approached the surviving relatives of the royal family who rejected her claim that she was Anastasia. She could not or would not speak Russian, yet she understood it fully when it was spoken to her.

Anna Anderson eventually moved to the US and married an American. As she lay dying, she still claimed that she was Anastasia. Was she really the youngest daughter of Czar Nicholas who had successfully escaped the slaughter of her family? Did the story of the Romanov family end in the cellar at Ekaterinburg, or was there a member of the family that survived? Will we ever know the truth or will the true identity of Anna Anderson always remain a mystery of history?

* The Irish crown jewels were presented to Ireland by William IV during the 19th century and were housed in a safe in Dublin Castle’s Bedford Tower. Sir Arthur Vicars, the Ulster king of arms, his nephew and two other men were assigned to protect them.

Vicars reported that his key to the main door of the tower was missing on June 28, 1907. A cleaning lady found the door unlocked when she arrived for work on July 3rd. On July 6th, the same cleaning lady reported that the door to the vault where the jewels were kept was left open all night. That afternoon it was reported that the crown jewels were missing.

Police determined the thief had spent at least ten minutes removing the jewels from their seats. This led them to believe the thief was well known in the castle. Was the theft an inside job?

Edward VII called for the resignation of all four men who were responsible to guard the jewels. Vicars refused to resign from his post. He was furious that he had been accused. He was immediately dismissed.

All four of the guards met a tragic death. Vicars was found in the garden of his home on April 14, 1921. His body was riddled with bullet holes. Was Vicars and his colleagues guilty of stealing the crown jewels, or were they unjustly accused? What happened to the Irish crown jewels? It seems they vanished off the face of the earth, for they’ve never been found to this day. Will the theft ever be solved and the jewels returned to Ireland, or will the incident forever remain a mystery of history?

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