Windsor Castle intruder tells court he intended to assassinate the Queen
The masked intruder scaled Windsor Castle with a crossbow (inset). Photo: Getty
A masked man who scaled Windsor Castle carrying a loaded crossbow and said ‘I am here to kill the Queen’ has pleaded guilty to an offence under the Treason Act.
Jaswant Singh Chail, 21 was arrested wearing a hood, mask and gloves on the grounds of the castle about 8am on Christmas Day, 2021.
Queen Elizabeth was living there at the time because of the pandemic and was home on the day of the intrusion with her son, now King Charles, and other close family members.
Chail pleaded guilty in a London court to threatening to kill the monarch and is the first person in the UK to be convicted of treason since 1981.
“Chail entered the protected areas within Windsor Castle after making threats to kill her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II,” Head of the Crown Prosecution Service’s Special Crime and Counter Terrorism Division said Nick Price said.
“Thankfully police officers intervened and nobody was hurt. “This was a serious incident but fortunately a rare one,” he said.
Chail had spent months planning the attack, prosecutors had said at an earlier court hearing.
Queen Elizabeth II outside Windsor Castle in October 2021, two months before the intrusion. Photo: Getty
The BBC reports Chail had climbed into the grounds using a nylon rope ladder “like something out of a vigilante movie”.
When a protection officer took out his Taser, and asked him: “Morning, can I help, mate?” Chail replied: “I am here to kill the Queen.”
The BBC reports a video posted on Snapchat minutes before the break-in stated: “I’m sorry, I’m sorry for what I’ve done and what I will do. I will attempt to assassinate Elizabeth, Queen of the Royal Family.
“This is revenge for those who have died in the 1919 Jallianwala Bagh massacre. It is also revenge for those who have been killed, humiliated and discriminated on because of their race.”
Chail appeared at Friday’s hearing at London’s Old Bailey court via video link, wearing a black jacket.
An aerial view of Windsor Castle, about 40km from central London. Photo: Getty
He spoke only to confirm his name and enter guilty pleas to the three charges of making threats to kill, possession of an offensive weapon and an offence under the 1842 Treason Act.
Judge Jeremy Baker said he would sentence Chail on March 31 and ordered medical reports be prepared.
In 1981, Marcus Sarjaent was sentenced to five years in jail under the Treason Act after he pleaded guilty to firing blank shots at the Queen during the annual Trooping the Colour parade in central London.
Queen Elizabeth II died of old age in September 2022 at Balmoral Castle.
