Police have charged four men after the theft of a fully-functioning golden toilet worth an estimated £4.8m.

The 18-carat loo, an art piece titled “America”, was stolen from Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire in September 2019.

Thames Valley Police say they have now charged four men.

James Sheen, 39, of Wellingborough, has been charged with one count of burglary, one count of conspiracy to transfer criminal property and one count of transferring criminal property.

Michael Jones, 38, of Oxford, has been charged with one count of burglary.

Police have also charged Fred Doe, 35, of Ascot, and Bora Guccuk, 39, of West London, with one count each of conspiracy to transfer criminal property.

They are due to appear at Oxford Magistrates’ Court on 28 November.

Be the first to get Breaking News

Install the Sky News app for free

Read more from Sky News:
Thieves cut through floor to steal antiques
Shoplifting up 25% in the past year

The toilet was installed in Blenheim Palace, the birthplace of former prime minister and wartime leader Sir Winston Churchill, as part of Italian concept artist Maurizio Cattelan’s first solo exhibition in 20 years.

The golden toilet was previously on display at New York’s Guggenheim Museum in 2016 where visitors could use it while a member of security staff stood guard outside.

The museum also once offered it to US president Donald Trump – who installed golden curtains when he moved into the White House.

Related posts:

Passengers watched woman being raped on train and did nothing, US police say US accuses Iranian ‘hackers’ of attempting to ‘sow discord’ in 2020 presidential election First Native American appointed to head US National Park Service US airlines warn 5G could ground planes and cause ‘chaos’ British man shot dead during Texas synagogue siege ‘was known to MI5’ Texas Senator Ted Cruz storms off over questions about gun reform after school shooting Joe Biden hits out at ‘extreme ideology’ of Donald Trump in fiery speech Serena Williams crashes out of the US Open – in what may be final singles campaign of her career Crew saved from sharks after fishing boat sinks off Louisiana coast Alec Baldwin’s charges reduced over Rust shooting Sharp fall in migrant ‘encounters’ at US-Mexico border ‘Shockingly insensitive’: Officer joked after woman hit and killed by police car