At Buckingham Palace, everyone knew that Elizabeth II had a sense of humor.
And this, in all circumstances.
This was not missed on Christmas Day 2021, when an intruder - armed with a crossbow - had just entered the grounds of Windsor Castle where the royal family was sharing a traditional
Christmas breakfast
.
As former Tory and Windsor MP Gyles Brandreth recounts in his new book,
Elizabeth: An Intimate Portrait
, Her Majesty The Queen was told about the incident by a member of her staff.
And would have replied: "Yes, well, that would have spoiled the Christmas spirit, wouldn't it?"
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In his brand new biography
Elizabeth: An Intimate Portrait
, Gyles Brandreth paints the portrait of a particularly joking sovereign.
The 74-year-old British writer even says he was struck by his "ironic, dry and humorous way of seeing things", reports the
Daily Mail
.
An intruder in Windsor
Armed with a crossbow, Jaswant Singh Chai, 19, entered Windsor Castle, residence of Elizabeth II in west London on December 25, 2021.
The one who said he wanted to "assassinate the queen" was finally arrested around 8:30 a.m., a few moments after entering the domain of the royal residence where the monarch spent the holidays with the family.
The man, originally from Southampton (south of England), was immediately committed to psychiatric care.
On August 17, he appeared via video link from a secure psychiatric hospital in west London.
He is notably prosecuted under section 2 of the “Treason Act” of 1842 which punishes attempts to “injure or harm Her Majesty”, and risks prison or a seven-year banishment.
Recourse to the "Treason Act" is extremely rare.
The most famous case dates back to 1981 when Marcus Sarjeant was sentenced to five years in prison after pleading guilty to firing five blank shots at Elizabeth II during a parade.
Intrusion attempts at Windsor as at Buckingham Palace are not exceptional.
But the most spectacular dates back to 1982, in Buckingham, when a thirty-year-old, Michael Fagan, had managed to make his way to the bedroom of the queen, who was at that time … in bed.
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