Royal Photographer Appeals for Return of Stolen Snaps

25 years of irreplaceable images taken from van outside Pilot pub

Steve Butler with the van the items were taken from

A celebrity and royal photographer has made an public appeal for the return of two hard drives containing a quarter-century of irreplaceable images — including photographs of the late Queen, Princes William and Harry, and Meghan Markle on her wedding day — after his van was broken into outside a Chiswick pub.

Steve Butler, who has photographed royalty and celebrities across his long career, had just returned from a three-month work trip to Australia when he met two friends for dinner at The Pilot pub on Wellesley Road, on the Chiswick and Gunnersbury border, on the evening of Tuesday 12 May.

While he was inside, thieves targeted his vehicle, which was parked in Oxford Road North, a side street immediately adjacent to the pub. The break-in is believed to have occurred at around 8.20pm.

Along with clothing and camera equipment — which Steve says is covered by insurance and "would have been sold on" — the thieves took two black external hard drives stored in a clear see-through plastic make-up bag. It is those drives, roughly the size of a cigarette box each, that he is desperately hoping to recover.

"The photos are lost if the hard drives are not returned," he said. "I don't care about the other items as they are insured. It's the hard drives."

The drives contain more than 25 years of professional photographic work, including images of the late Queen smiling at Butler from her carriage at Royal Ascot, Prince Harry photographed in St Lucia, Meghan Markle smiling at him on her wedding day in Windsor, and pictures of Princes William and Harry and Catherine, Princess of Wales. Butler also spent a decade as the official photographer at the BAFTA film and television awards, and the drives contain extensive work from that period including photographs of George Clooney, Tom Cruise and many other major stars.

The van's smashed rear window after the break in

In a partial piece of good fortune, a public-spirited member of the public called Steve 30 minutes after the theft to report that clothing had been dumped on the walkway ramp that runs from Oxford Road North up to the Great West Road. Steve says he has recovered around 30 per cent of his clothing as a result.

He believes the hard drives may similarly have been discarded rather than kept, as they would have no obvious resale value to opportunistic thieves. He is appealing to anyone in the area to check bushes, verges and nearby waste ground.

The manager of The Pilot has confirmed to Butler that the pub's CCTV system captured footage of two individuals on bikes moving behind his vehicle at 8.20pm on the evening of the theft.

Steve is now directly appealing to the Metropolitan Police to contact the pub and obtain the footage, which he believes could be critical to identifying those responsible.

Steve is offering a reward for the return of the hard drives and is asking anyone who finds them to contact him directly. He stresses that no questions will be asked.

• Phone: 07970 430606
• Email: stevebpictures@gmail.com

"There are favourite pictures of the Queen in her carriage smiling at me at Royal Ascot," Butler said. "Prince Harry in St Lucia. Meghan Markle smiling at me on her wedding day in Windsor. Please — if anyone finds those drives, please get in touch."

If you have any information, contact Steve Butler directly or call the Metropolitan Police quoting reference 01/7554921/26.