Arrest at Windsor Castle
Intruder apparently wanted to kill Queen – government is now examining stricter crossbow rules
Queen Elizabeth II spent Christmas with her family at Windsor Castle
© Zuma Press / Imago Images
Police arrested an armed man in the grounds of Windsor Castle over Christmas. He was apparently planning an assassination attempt on Queen Elizabeth II. In response, the British government is examining stricter crossbow rules.
The alleged attempted assassination attempt on Queen Elizabeth II (95) now has political consequences. In response to the intrusion of a man armed with a crossbow into the grounds of the royal residence, Windsor Castle, the British government wants to tighten the rules governing the possession and acquisition of these weapons.
Interior Minister Priti Patel ordered the findings from the incident on Christmas Day to be included in the current audit, the Daily Telegraph reported on Tuesday. The ministry said it was examining how controls could be tightened.
It is currently illegal in the UK to sell crossbows to minors. In addition, the weapon must not be carried in public places. However, it can be freely acquired by adults. Calls for stricter restrictions were recently loud after a man was killed by his neighbor with a crossbow. In a report to Minister Patel, the examining magistrate warned that there was no close inspection or record of crossbow owners.
The murder of Queen Elizabeth II was announced in a video clip
On the morning of December 25, security forces arrested a 19-year-old man on the grounds of Windsor Castle who had climbed over the wall of the property west of London. He had a crossbow with him. Queen Elizabeth II was on the premises during the incident. She celebrated Christmas there with the Royal Family.
In a video clip presumably recorded by the 19-year-old, a masked figure who is handling a crossbow announces that she wants to murder Queen Elizabeth II in revenge for a massacre by British troops in India in 1919. The young man is presumably mentally ill.