Hannah Walton-Hughes
Jaswant Singh Chail, 21, pleaded guilty in London’s Old Bailey on Friday, to an offence under the Treason Act and threatening to kill Her Late Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II.
The attempted attack occurred on Christmas Day 2021, when the late Queen, King Charles, and other Royal Family members were gathered at Windsor Castle.
“I am here to kill the Queen.”
Chail was found on the grounds of Windsor Castle at approximately 8am – clad in a hood, mask and gloves, -and carrying a loaded crossbow.
When a protection officer approached him, he said: “I am here to kill the Queen.”
Nick Price, Head of the Crown Prosecution Service’s Special Crime and Counter Terrorism Division described the incident as “serious but rare.”
“Police officers intervened and nobody was hurt.”
https://twitter.com/MrAndyNgo/status/1621465299051503618?s=20&t=XPecF0Y0tCs7NQ23t0FvMQ
Chail pled guilty to all three charges – possession of an offensive weapon, making threats to kill, and an offence under the 1842 Treason Act.
This is not the first attempted attack on Her Late Majesty. In 1981, Marcus Sarjaent was imprisoned for 5 years under the Treason Act, following an incident where he fired blank shots at the Queen.
In this instance, Her Majesty was attending the annual Trooping the Colour Parade in Central London.
“Only spoke to enter his pleas and give his name”
Chail joined the hearing on Friday via a video link. He was described as being all in black and only spoke to enter his pleas and give his name. Before his sentence is given, the court has ‘ordered’ medical records to be prepared.
Mr Justice Jeremy Baker stated an official sentence will be given on the 31st March.
Featured image courtesy of Peter Albanese on Unsplash. Image licence found here. No changes were made to this image.
hwaltonh13
I am an aspiring political journalist, and am passionate about writing and reporting on local, national, and international news. Currently, I am a second year Undergraduate student studying English with Creative Writing at the University of Nottingham. I am a regular contributor to the News, Features, Reviews and Entertainment sections of the University's magazine, Impact, where I also hold the position of Head of the Reviews section. I am a member of the News team at University Radio Nottingham, where I am a panelist on the weekly News and Political shows, as well as partaking in reporting. Previous work experience includes a week's placement at Your LocalLink Magazine in York, in addition to shadowing MP Jason McCartney in Parliament. See my LinkedIn page for more. Over lockdown, I appeared on BBC Radio York during York, discussing my Creative Writing.