Man breaks into Buckingham Palace – while the Queen is at home
The Queen was at Buckingham Palace when an intruder scaled a fence on Wednesday. Photo: Getty
Amid global interest in the real life soap opera of Meghan Markle and the rest of the Windsors, a man was arrested after scaling Buckingham Palace’s front gates in the middle of the night, police said.
A 22-year-old was held on suspicion of trespass about 2am on Wednesday (UK time) at the palace, according to the BBC, which reported the intruder was unarmed and the incident is not being treated as terror-related.
The Queen was in residence at the time, but a spokesperson declined to say if she was told about the security breach.
On the same day as the man tried to break into the palace, Meghan broke out of her Frogmore Cottage home to take son Archie on his first public outing, to his father Prince Harry’s polo match.
Carrying her eight-week-old boy at the Billingbear Polo Club, the Duchess of Sussex, 37, dropped kisses on Archie’s head as she stood under a tree.
Wearing an olive Lisa Marie Fernandez shift dress with undone hair and Givenchy aviator sunglasses, new mum Meghan looked blissfully unaffected by the public controversies which have beset her and Harry.
Prince Harry joins his wife and son after playing polo. Photo: Getty
There are still rumblings of discontent in the UK over the Sussexes’ decision to keep Archie’s July 6 Windsor Castle christening a private affair. Meghan also made headlines thanks to a claim she used “random control freakery” to stop photos being taken of her at Wimbledon on July 4.
While former child actress and Oscar winner Tatum O’Neal attacked the retired Suits star as “tacky” on Good Morning Britain on Wednesday, Meghan had heavyweight royal support at the polo.
In a picture-perfect show of family unity, Meghan and Archie joined forces with Kate Middleton, 37, and her children Prince George, 5, Princess Charlotte, 4, and Prince Louis, 1.
The royal wives and children were gathered to watch Harry and Prince William, 37, play in the King Power Royal Charity Polo Day.
Prince Louis is Archie’s court jester. Photo: Getty
It was the first time the brothers have carried out an engagement together since last October, when they hosted a reception at St James’ Palace in London to open the 2018 Illegal Wildlife Trade Conference.
Making his own polo debut, Louis proved himself a card, lifting off his mother’s sunglasses to wear them himself to entertain an oblivious Archie.
Kate was kept busy following Archie around the polo field. Later, she opened the boot of her family’s station wagon and parked George and Charlotte there for snacks.
Despite the princes playing on opposing teams – William’s won – the charity polo game gave Harry and William the chance to present a united front amid ongoing buzz they are no longer close.
Prince George and Princess Charlotte boot up with Kate and Louis nearby. Photo: Getty
“They love playing polo and it’s a great chance for them to spend some time together and do a bit of bonding as well as raising money for their causes,” a source who regularly plays polo with them told Vanity Fair.
A palace source said William and Harry will play polo all northern summer to support various causes, but “family commitments” mean they’re pickier these days.
“From now on they will only play in charity matches where they can make around £1million ($1.79 million) for their chosen charities,” the source said.