Concern Mounts for Queen Elizabeth as 2 Intruders Successfully Break Into Windsor Estate
Its been a scary few days for the royal family. Last Sunday, two intruders broke into Windsor Castle. This is the latest invasion attempt in the past few weeks after another woman was mistakenly let onto the property after claiming she was Prince Andrew’s fiancée. What measures has security taken to keep Queen Elizabeth safe amid the break-ins?
Couple breaks in Queen Elizabeth’s home
Last Sunday, police arrested a 31-year-old man and his girlfriend, a 29-year-old woman, after they attempted to get onto the Windsor estate. The pair allegedly scaled the fences at the Windsor Royal Lodge, according to The Sun. Luckily, the queen was not on the property. If she had been, the couple might have run into her as the area where they entered is where the queen commonly walks her dogs and rides horses.
Though the queen was not there, one of Queen Elizabeth’s children, Prince Andrew, was. He was not harmed in the attempted break in.
This is the second break-in attempt in the last few weeks
The attempt is even more worrying as it is the second security breach in a week. Six days prior to the couple entering Windsor grounds, a 44-year-old Spanish woman pretended to be Andrew’s fiancée and was allowed onto the grounds. She remained there for 20 minutes before she was arrested.
“This is an astonishing lapse,” a source told the outlet of the most recent incident. “Everyone was on high alert after the first intruder, now this happens. Heads could roll. It is unforgivable.
“The couple wandered around for ages before anyone spotted them and police were called,” the source continued. “Andrew was at home at the time. You have to wonder what on Earth is going on up there.”
Ken Wharfe, who was Princess Diana’s protection officer for almost a decade, also commented on the situation.
“When you take these incidents into account then it is a farce,” he told the outlet. “It is totally unacceptable and makes the Queen vulnerable. This is very worrying and things really need to change.”
Buckingham Palace intruder
The most infamous security breach in Buckingham Palace history happened in 1982 when Michael Fagan scaled a drainpipe and entered the queen’s bedroom. Fagan and the queen talked for 10 minutes before anyone came to help her.
”The first person to enter her room was a chambermaid 10 minutes after the intruder got in,” The Standard reported at the time, according to the New York Times.
”Police arrived another eight minutes after that – when the chambermaid had already led the man away. The chambermaid handed the man over to a footman.”
Later, in an interview, Fagan revealed that it wasn’t hard to find the queen’s room.
“I found rooms saying ‘Diana’s room,’ ‘Charles’s room;’ they all had names on them. “But I couldn’t find a door which said ‘WC,'” he said according to The Telegraph. “All I found were some bins with ‘corgi food’ written on them. I was breaking my neck to go to the toilet. What do I do? Pee on the carpet? So I had to pee on the corgi food.”
After that break in, in 2013, a man holding a knife tried to get into the Palace’s gates but was apprehended. Then, in 2016, a man scaled the wall before being stopped.
