Michael Fagan incident

Michael Fagan ( born 1951 ) is a British citizen, who crept into the Buckingham Palace in central London. In the early morning of July 9, 1982 he entered the bedroom of Queen Elizabeth II

Incident

Michael Fagan, unemployed, 4 children, broke on 9 July 1982 at the second attempt in the Buckingham Palace. On his first attempt he tried to climb a rain gutter, which did not succeed. The second time he tried, this time successfully, on the same gutter to enter the Buckingham Palace. Up to a favorable moment he waited at first for a few minutes on the roof. In the building he met a maid who believed Fagan was an employee, and security issues also did not belong to their jurisdiction. Inside the building was indeed triggered alarm, but a guard went from a false alarm and turned off the alarm. More alarms were installed but not activated or defective. In the further course Fagan drank from a bottle of wine and broke an ashtray made ​​of crystal, which he inflicted in significant cuts.

The bodyguard Paul Whybrew who should watch before the door of the bedroom, left his post a few minutes to run the dogs of the queen. The local empty chair Fagan showed up to the bedroom of the queen and he was able to enter this unhindered.

The Queen woke when he began to speak on the edge of her bed with her, which he heavily bleeding was still holding the remains of the ashtray. So he was able to speak for about ten minutes undisturbed with the Queen, while nonetheless while twice over a panic button at the bottom of the bed trying to call the police. But this alarm was not connected. She recognized the danger, now spoke reassuringly to a Fagan, offered him cigars and pretended to want to pick them from the next room. Well met a more domestic workers, which recognized the situation and called the police, who came immediately then.

After this incident, some security officers were replaced and the safety precautions at Buckingham Palace massively increased. Fagan was charged, but not convicted. It was Overworked only the theft of the wine bottle, but the process has been set. A burglary or trespassing could not be proved against him, partly because the massive defects of the alarm arrangements and disciplinary failures of security personnel favored the incident. For several months Fagan was sent for review to a psychiatric hospital and then released without any findings.