Amanda Cronin, a star of The Real Housewives of London and a successful skincare entrepreneur, has become the latest high-profile victim of the capital's escalating crime wave, after her iPhone 15 was snatched by a hooded thief on an e-bike.
A Terrifying Encounter in Belgravia
The former model, famously known for having the 'longest legs in Belgravia', was walking home from a 'beautiful' evening at the One Sloane Hotel in Sloane Square last month when the incident occurred at around 9pm. Just yards from her three-storey mews house in Belgravia, a silent e-bike rider emerged from nowhere and whisked the phone from her hand.
Ms Cronin, 57, recounted the shock of the event in an exclusive interview with the Daily Mail, expressing relief that she was not physically harmed. She noted that the thief ignored her Gucci bag and several rings she was wearing, targeting only the phone.
This was not her first brush with crime in the city. She revealed that a few years ago, her phone was also snatched while she was visiting universities with her daughter. In a separate incident, she woke up to find a hacker attempting to access her private banking account with Coutts. She has also survived 'multiple' attempted car thefts where she lives.
A Pattern of Crime Targeting Public Figures
Ms Cronin's experience is part of a disturbing pattern affecting London's residents and celebrities alike. Just weeks before her own ordeal, she had enjoyed a long lunch with Bridgerton actress Genevieve Chenneour, who has been attacked twice in London this year.
Ms Chenneour was randomly attacked near Oxford Circus last week, following a previous incident in February where she had to bravely defend herself from prolific thief Zacariah Boulares at a Joe & the Juice in Kensington.
Despite these harrowing experiences, Ms Cronin remains defiantly pro-London, having moved to the city in the early 1990s. However, she expressed concern over the lack of resources to keep people safe in a metropolis of nearly 10 million people.
Calling for Action and a Change in Mindset
The reality TV star and founder of the Amanda Caroline skincare brand is calling for authorities to adopt a New York-style 'zero tolerance' approach to crime. She argues that by not turning a blind eye to 'lesser crimes' like phone snatching, a stronger message can be sent to criminals.
'We need to feel safe, we need the tourists to feel safe and we need the people that come and spend a lot of money to feel safe - and to want to be in London,' she stated emphatically.
In response to the theft, Ms Cronin has ordered a strap to keep her phone secured around her neck. She also disclosed that she and her peers no longer feel safe wearing expensive watches due to the high number of violent watch thefts.
Drawing on her Christian faith, which she turned to after the collapse of her marriage to energy tycoon Mark Daeche in 2019, Ms Cronin says she chooses to 'live in faith, not in fear'. She ended with a rallying call for resilience: 'There's a lot going on in the UK, but we just need to stay strong and resilient and positive.'
