Investigation Launched After Man Posing as Priest Spends Night at Windsor Castle Barracks

In late April, a man was arrested after he posed as a priest and spent the night in the Windsor Castle Barracks while Queen Elizabeth II was away.

By Tamantha Gunn May 04, 2022 2:56 PMTags

Looks like someone wanted to feel like king of the castle.

An unidentified man arrived at England's Windsor Castle on April 27, posing as a priest. According to NBC News, he spent the night eating and drinking, before being given a bed in the barracks, which are not located on castle grounds. At 9:20 a.m., the security raised an alarm, and police removed the intruder from the sleeping quarters. 

Queen Elizabeth II was not at her Berkshire residence at the time, but rather enjoying a private break at her Sandringham estate about 100 miles away.

"We received a report of an outsider at Victoria Barracks in Sheet Street, Windsor," a Thames Valley Police spokesperson told NBC in a statement. "Officers attended and removed the outsider from the barracks. No further action was required."

That's not to say the incident will be brushed under the palace's rugs. A British Army spokesperson told NBC News: "The Army takes this breach of security extremely seriously and it will be thoroughly investigated as a matter of priority."

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E! News has reached out to Buckingham Palace for comment and has not yet heard back.

This isn't the first time an unwanted guest made their way on royal grounds. Last December, a 19-year-old trespasser armed with a crossbow was arrested at the Windsor Castle as members of the royal family, including Queen Elizabeth, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall and Prince Charles, celebrated Christmas.

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And in 1982, a man named Michael Fagan was arrested after he broke into the Queen's bedroom while she was sleeping. In a 2012 interview with The Independent, he said, "I don't know why I did it, something just got into my head."

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