Police have been barred from searching the Queen’s private estates for stolen or looted artefacts after ministers granted her a personal exemption from a law that protects the world’s cultural property, the Guardian can reveal. A spokesperson for the Queen dismissed any suggestion that stolen or looted artefacts were being held on the monarch’s private estates. Whittingdale’s private secretary, who was not named, stated that the draft bill had been carefully phrased when it referred to the Queen’s special exemption. Part 4 of the bill gave the police powers to search properties where looted artefacts may be held and to seize them. The Cultural Property Act is the result of an international push to clamp down on the destruction of cultural heritage during conflicts.

Source: The Guardian March 25, 2021 12:00 UTC