Banking heiress Kate Rothschild's home raided for £500k in jewels as her children slept upstairs

Raiders broke into the home of banking heiress Kate Rothschild escaping with up to £500,000 worth of jewels and valuables as her children slept upstairs.

The burglars scaled a rear wall to enter her bedroom at her new home in Barnes, fleeing with a large jewellery box containing all her valuables, including an antique diamond dragonfly brooch and wedding and engagement rings.

Ms Rothschild, 35, pictured, returned home with her boyfriend, entrepreneur Paul Forkan, after a night out and only realised something was wrong when she could not get into her bedroom. Mr Forkan climbed through an open bedroom window and found the room had been locked by the intruders from the inside. There was little sign of a break-in but a search revealed a pink jewellery box gone.

The Thomas Goode box is said by friends to have contained “everything precious” to Ms Rothschild, including wedding and engagement rings from her former marriage to financier and environmentalist Ben Goldsmith.

The couple had an acrimonious split and she later she began dating the American rapper Jay Electronica. They divorced in 2013 but the couple have since become friends.

Mr Goldsmith, 37 — younger brother of Tory MP Zac and son of billionaire Sir James — told the Standard: “They took every single thing of value Kate has, her wedding ring, engagement ring, everything I gave her during our marriage, special things from when she was a teenager, things from her father and her grandmother.

“These things should have been passed on to our daughter Iris, and to her daughter. I hope they catch this person. I hope we get these things back. I can’t imagine the kind of person that breaks into women’s bedrooms to steal their most precious things. I will pay a reward to anyone with useful information.”

He said their sons Frank, 12, and Isaac, 10, and the babysitter were asleep when she returned to the house at 2am last Thursday. None heard or saw anything suspicious. The intruders failed to disturb Ms Rothschild’s dog.

Friends say Ms Rothschild, a music producer, was distraught but is thankful her children and babysitter were not hurt. Stolen items included sentimental pieces belonging to her banker father Amschel, who hanged himself in the Hotel Bristol in Paris in 1996 when she was only 13.

Also taken was an antique diamond and plique-à-jour enamel dragonfly brooch; gold, ruby and diamond retro bracelet; gold four-row tracelink chain bracelet; wedding ring engraved with names Ben and Kate; and a diamond cushion-shaped single stone engagement ring in a platinum setting.

Earlier in the evening she and Mr Forkan were at 5 Hertford Street for the book launch for A Love of Eating, co-written by Standard columnist Jemima Jones, wife of Mr Goldsmith. Mr Forkan is the co-founder of fashion chain Gandys. In 2004 he lost his parents in the Boxing Day Tsunami, and set up children’s homes for orphans after the tragedy. Police have warned about burglary gangs targeting wealthy properties in affluent areas. The London burglary rate is up a third in the last 12 months, according to the Met.

It said there had been no arrests over the burglary. Anyone with information can contact police via 101 quoting CAD521/19Apr.