THIEVES broke into the remote Scottish home of Frances Shand Kydd and stole all her jewellery while she was in London giving evidence at the trial of Paul Burrell, her daughter’s former butler.

A housekeeper discovered the break-in on Thursday morning, shortly before the mother of Diana, Princess of Wales, appeared in the witness box at the Old Bailey.

Mrs Shand Kydd, 66, left her two-bedroom bungalow on the island of Seil, near Oban, earlier this week to travel to the hearing. Given the trial’s publicity, the intruders may have have known that the house would be empty when they broke in, probably on Wednesday night.

“They went through the entire house. Nothing pertaining to Diana was taken. They were professionals looking for jewellery,” Mrs Shand Kydd said.

She did not know how many items were taken, but she said that the collection had priceless sentimental value.

A spokesman for Strathclyde Police said that there was no history of jewel thefts in the Oban district. “In some areas it is easy to tell where stolen jewellery might be disposed of, but up here there is no obvious ready local market,” he said.

Mrs Shand Kydd has lived on Seil for 30 years, since moving there with her second husband, Peter Shand Kydd, the wallpaper magnate, who had a baronial property there.

• No matter how remote the burglary, 90 per cent of stolen jewellery ends up in London, in the Hatton Garden jewellery district and Portobello market (Helen Studd writes). While lower-quality pieces may end up melted down or remoulded, the valuable ones are stashed for years, as thieves know that most of their wares can eventually find a buyer in London.

  Diamonds valued at thousands of pounds on the official market are sold over the counter in full view of legitimate customers, and traders openly admit that they know that what they are buying is stolen.

  The unique pieces may be smuggled abroad to be remodelled, recut or remounted. America and Amsterdam are popular centres for recutting.

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