It has been revealed that The Queen had a near miss with an assassin, which was then covered up by the New Zealand government.
Christopher John Lewis was only 17 when he shot at Her Majesty. He had a history of arson, animal torture and looked up to serial killers such as Charles Manson.
He developed an obsession with murdering the Royal Family. His crime was covered up, and he was never charged with the assassination attempt.
While in New Zealand in 1981, The Queen stepped out of her car to greet a crowd of over 3,000 wellwishers. As she did so, Christopher John Lewis was aiming at Her Majesty. A loud crack was heard by the assembled press. They were told by police officers that it was just a council sign that fell over.
The crack people heard on the day was of course not a sign, but a gunshot that missed The Queen. When police raided Lewis’ flat, they found a map of the route she was taking that day. There were also clippings of the Royal Family.
However, according to former Dunedin police Sgt Tom Lewis, the then Prime Minister believed that if word got out about the assassination attempt, the Royal Family would not revisit New Zealand.
Sgt Tom Lewis claimed that statements were destroyed and orders were given not to charge him. He was only ever charged with possession of a firearm in a public place.
The attempted assassin later wrote he was visited by high-ranking government officials: “If I was ever to mention the events surrounding my interview or the organisation, or that I was in the building, or that I was shooting from it- that they would make sure I ‘suffered a fate worse than death’.”
He had an unhealthy obsession that carried on while he was in a psychiatric hospital he was detained at. While the Prince of Wales was visiting the country in 1983 alongside the Princess of Wales and Prince William, he attempted to break out of the hospital to assassinate Prince Charles.
The New Zealand government kept him away when The Queen visited again in 1995. They found he had planned a route of Her Majesty’s visit. They sent him on a taxpayer-funded vacation to the Great Barrier Island. He had free accommodation, daily spending money, and a car. They did not place him under 24-hour surveillance.
He was there for ten days and wrote that he “started to feel like royalty.”
Christopher John Lewis has not been charged. He will never be charged. He killed himself while in prison at the age of 33. He was awaiting trial for the murder of a young mother and the kidnapping of her child.
Oh what rubbish. This makes little sense. As much as Kiwis are sometimes jealous of, and dislike, Aussies, I think it’s ridiculous that the NZ police would allow a suspected terrorist to travel to Australia. The NZ economy and security is almost entirely a function of Australia’s—if this were true and became known, the Kiwis would have a lot more to be worried about than Royals declining to visit NZ again.