On Monday, a 24-year-old man was arrested when he tried to climb over the wall at Buckingham Palace.
The Metropolitan Police arrested the man three minutes after he made it over the low outer perimeter fence on suspicion of trespassing. The incident was not related to terrorism.
A statement from the police read: “The man was not found in possession of any offensive weapons and the incident is not being treated as terrorist related.”
After undergoing a mental health assessment, he was released on conditional bail.
This isn’t the only time an intruder has tried to climb the fence recently. Less than two months ago, in October, a woman attempted to scale the front gates.
Her Majesty was not at Buckingham at the time but on her annual break to Balmoral.
The closest recent call was in May 2016 when a man convicted of murder made it over the wall and walked around for 10 minutes before police arrested him. He was sentenced to four months in jail.
41-year-old Dennis Hennessy was convicted of murdering a homeless man back in 1992.
At the time of the hearing, the court heard that Hennessy was on the grounds of Buckingham Palace for around ten minutes. When he was detained, he reportedly asked whether “Ma’am was in”.
Hennessy, of Barnhill Road, Wembley, injured his hand as he climbed over the wall, which set the alarm off and alerted security.
As well as admitting to trespass on a protected site, he pleaded guilty to one count of criminal damage.
In 2013, a man was found in one of the Palace State Rooms long after they had closed to the public for the day. He was arrested on suspicion of burglary.
The most famous breach came in 1982 when Michael Fagan broke into the Queen’s bedroom. Because the police officer guarding The Queen’s door had gone to walk the corgis, Her Majesty was left talking to Fagan for some time. Eventually, on Fagan’s request, The Queen rung through for a cigarette for him and Fagan was apprehended by Her Majesty’s Page, Paul Whybrew, until police arrived.
