Great Britain
‘Here to Kill Queen’: Windsor intruder on trial
Armed with a crossbow, the then 19-year-old was caught on the grounds of the Queen’s residence, Windsor Castle. photo
© Alastair Grant/AP/dpa
Despite high security precautions, he managed to enter the Queen’s residence in December 2021. Now the man from Southampton has to answer in court.
A 20-year-old man who trespassed on the grounds of Windsor Castle last Christmas with intent to attack Queen Elizabeth II is now facing charges.
“I’m here to kill the Queen,” the attacker is said to have said to a security guard, the prosecution said in a London court.
The Southampton man, who was brought on from a high-security psychiatric facility, is accused of carrying a firearm “with intent to offend or upset Her Majesty”. He has yet to plead guilty or not guilty to any of the various counts of the charges. He is scheduled to appear in court at the Old Bailey on September 14.
The maximum penalty under the Treason Act is seven years in prison. The man is also accused of making death threats and possessing an assault weapon.
The then 19-year-old entered the Queen’s residence west of London on December 25, 2021, despite high security measures. He is said to have come within 500 meters of the Queen’s private apartments, who were staying at Windsor Castle.
In a video that British media showed a few days later, the man himself had probably announced that he wanted to murder the Queen. In doing so, he is taking revenge for those who were killed, humiliated and discriminated against because of their origin, as well as for the dead of the Amritsar massacre in 1919. At that time, British colonial troops opened fire on demonstrators in the Indian city of Amritsar, killing hundreds. He is an Indian Sikh, says the masked man in the clip.
Prior to his attack, the accused was said to have attempted to become part of the UK Ministry of Defense police force as well as the Grenadier Guards in order to get closer to the Royal Family.