Is royal security tight enough at Windsor Castle?
There has been another breach of security in the grounds of Windsor Castle at a time when senior royals are thought to have been staying nearby.
Police have confirmed that a property inside the security fence was broken into where two vehicles were stolen.
The raid, which happened in October, is understood to have involved burglars smashing their way through a security barrier at an entrance of the estate, which is one of the gates used by the Royal Family.
The barriers – at what is known as Shaw Farm Gate – have had to be replaced, according to The Sun newspaper which first published the story.
The thieves drove away with a pick-up truck and a quad bike.
There is no suggestion members of the Royal Family were the intended target.
Prince William and Kate were believed to be on the estate at the time, but the King was in Scotland and Queen Camilla had left the country for a short break before she joined Charles for the start of their Royal Tour to Australia.
The raid follows other security breaches in Windsor including the intruder who scaled a fence on Christmas Day in 2021 armed with a crossbow saying he intended to kill Queen Elizabeth.
Last February, another man was arrested on suspicion of trespass and detained under the mental health act after being found in the Windsor Castle grounds not far from King Charles’ private apartments.
A statement sent to ITV News from the local police force, Thames Valley, says: “At around 11.45pm on Sunday 13 October, we received a report of burglary at a property on Crown Estate land near to the A308 in Windsor.
Offenders entered a farm building and made off with a black Izuzu pickup and a red quad bike. They then made off towards the Old Windsor/Datchet area.”
On that Sunday night, it’s understood that the Prince and Princess of Wales were sleeping at their home with their three children, George, Charlotte and Louis.
The children would have been planning to go to their school as usual, Lambrook in Ascot, on the Monday morning.
William and Kate and their family live at Adelaide Cottage in Windsor.
It is tucked away inside the middle of the estate and not close to the Shaw Farm entrance, but their home is only a couple of minutes drive from the gate which was raided.
A royal insider said the raid was “half a mile from where any Royal would have been sleeping”.
There is a layered system of protection for members of the Royal Family so security officers do not appear to be overly alarmed by the breach on the perimeter of the estate.
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There are a number of entrances and exits available for any royal convoy leaving or arriving at the Castle and the royal protection teams regularly change their routes to avoid creating a pattern, should anyone be watching their movements.
Whilst the police guards and surveillance cameras are intended to be the first line of defence for anyone trying to gain access to the grounds, an intruder would have to get through many more layers of security before reaching a member of the Royal Family.
A royal source likened it to someone scaling the perimeter fence at Wembley when players are taking part in a major international match on the pitch.
Nevertheless, security teams will be assessing what happened to establish how anyone was able to get into a building on one of the most famous royal estates in the country and drive out with two stolen vehicles.
Following a trial at the Old Bailey, Jaswant Singh Chail was jailed for treason for his attempt to kill the late Queen in 2021 and was sentenced to nine years.
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