The man did not enter the buildings of Queen Elizabeth II and her family, the police said on Saturday. He was arrested on suspicion of trespassing and illegal possession of weapons. The members of the British royal family were therefore informed about the incident.
One does not assume a danger to the public, it said further. As the Thames Valley Police announced on Saturday, the young man broke through the security zone around the residence of Queen Elizabeth II at around 8:30 a.m. “We can confirm that the security processes were triggered immediately and the man did not enter any buildings,” said Superintendent Rebecca Mears. “The man was arrested on suspicion of entering a protected area and possession of an assault weapon,” Mears noted. What kind of weapon the intruder from the southern English city of Southampton was carrying was not clear from the communication.
The Saturday incident did not seem to affect the royal family’s plans for Christmas Day: pictures were released during the day showing Prince Charles, his wife Camilla and other royals on their way to the Christmas mass at Windsor Castle.
The Queen did not appear in public on Saturday. In a recorded Christmas address, the 95-year-old spoke about the loss of her husband, Prince Philip, who died in April at the age of 99.
Because of the pandemic, Elizabeth II will not be spending the festive season and the turn of the year at her country estate in Sandringham, East England, but at Windsor Castle. On Christmas Day, she celebrated in a small circle with her sons Charles (73), Edward (57) and her cousin Prince Richard and their partners. The monarch had recently spent a lot of time at Windsor Castle because of the Covid 19 pandemic.
Such incidents are rare. In 1982 a man entered Buckingham Palace in London over a wall and got into a room where the Queen slept. In 2016, a convicted murderer climbed a wall in Buckingham Palace and inquired about the Queen’s whereabouts.
Source: Nachrichten
