On Saturday, 25 December, Queen Elizabeth II was spending a relaxed Christmas at Windsor Castle, West of London, with Prince Charles and his wife Camilla. However, the relaxed atmosphere was soon interrupted when London’s Metropolitan Police became aware that an intruder entered the castle’s grounds.
“Security processes were triggered within moments of the man entering the grounds and he did not enter any buildings,” said a statement from London’s Metropolitan Police.
The teenage intruder was detained for mental health treatment
The police immediately searched the 19-year-old intruder and found that he was armed with a crossbow. He was arrested on “suspicion of breach or trespass of a protected site and possession of an offensive weapon.”
After observation, the teenager was held for mental health treatment. In England and Wales, the Mental Health Act allows authorities to detain and treat people for mental health issues without their consent. Thus, those that are held under this legislation, are deemed to be a risk to themselves and/or others.
“The man was taken into custody and has undergone a mental health assessment – he has since been sectioned under the Mental Health Act and remains in the care of medical professionals,” said the Metropolitan police.
Not the first Windsor Castle intrusion
This was not the first instruction that Windsor Castle has had to deal with.
In July 2021, a man was arrested after scaling the gates of the Palace. And in 2020, a homeless man scaled the walls and slept in the palace grounds before being caught.
But it seems that the worst incident was in 1982 when a man in his 30s entered the Queen’s private chambers in Buckingham Palace while she was still in bed.