Charity shop where Catherine Middleton and the royal family 'donate clothes' has been burgled

(Image credit: James Gourley/BPI/REX/Shuttersto)

A 'designer' Oxfam shop in Kensington loved by the royal family has been burgled.

The charity shop, which is based just steps away from Kensington Palace and stocks second hand clothes from designers such as Prada and Gucci, had around £300 stolen by a thief on August 7th.

Based in the same part of London where royals such as Meghan Markle, Catherine Middleton and Princesses' Beatrice and Eugine live, this particular Oxfam store is believed to have benefitted from donations from its wealthy royal neighbours, including celebrities such as David Beckham and Robbie Williams.

The shop, like all Oxfam shops, relies on volunteers to run it. On the day of the burglary last month, according to reports, a man collected a key for the shop from a neighbouring cafe, pretending to be a volunteer, before it opened at 10am.

He then proceeded to take designer items, believed to be clothes and jewellery, up to the value of £300.

A source told the Sun, “There is so much money round here that people would take in Gucci clothes.

“Royals like Princess Michael of Kent and the Duchess of Gloucester have even apparently donated items.

“Everyone locally knows they leave the key nearby as they have so many volunteers in on different days.”

The source added, “But this is a scandalous way for Oxfam to treat their security.”

Oxfam, who confirmed the burglary, said in a statement, “A small number of items were stolen from the Gloucester Road shop in a burglary last month.

“These donations could have helped raise money for Oxfam’s life-changing work fighting poverty around the world. We are working with the police in their investigation.”

The London Metropolitan Police have yet to arrest anyone for the burglary and have asked anyone, with any information, to contact police on 101.

Amy Hunt

Amy Hunt is an experienced digital journalist specialising in homes, interiors and hobbies. She began her career working as the features assistant at woman&home magazine, before moving over to the digital side of the brand where she eventually became the Lifestyle Editor up until January 2022. Amy won the Digital Journalist of the Year award at the AOP Awards in 2019 for her work on womanandhome.com.