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Man with knife arrested at Buckingham Palace hours before Queen’s return

A man was arrested at Buckingham Palace at 11.30am this morning outside Buckingham Palace wielding a knife and attempting to get into the Palace grounds through the north-centre gate, Scotland Yard have said.

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The man, not identified by police, was arrested on suspicion of trespassing on a protected site and possessing an offensive weapon – he was taken to a London police station.

Police say the man was found to be with a knife on being searched after being detained for trespassing.

The Queen, who was at Windsor Castle at the time of the incident, was just hours away from returning to Buckingham Palace for the working week (Her Majesty usually spends the weekend at Windsor Castle when in London).

This is the second security incident reported at Buckingham Palace in the last two months.

In September, a man was arrested after he was found in one of the State Rooms of Buckingham Palace (allegedly having scaled a fence to get in) and on suspicion of criminal damage. Another man, believed to be an accomplice, was arrested just outside of the Palace on suspicion of conspiracy to commit burglary.

Prior to that, a few months ago a man was arrested at Buckingham Palace during the Changing the Guard ceremony when he interrupted proceedings wielding a knife. Police swiftly resolved the incident using Taser stun guns.

Today’s incident and previous recent incidents have raised questions again over the threat to the Royal Family from determined attackers.

Security at Buckingham Palace is managed jointly between the Army and Police, with the Army providing ceremonial guards at the Palace during the day and soldiers patrolling the grounds in conjunction with the Police during the night. Many police officers who work at Buckingham Palace are armed – the Palace itself has its own Police station also.