Queen’s surprise response to intruder

The late Queen had an amusing response after an intruder armed with a crossbow threatened to kill her at Windsor Castle.

The late Queen had a surprising response when she learned an intruder who broke into the Windsor Castle grounds last Christmas wanted to kill her, a new book has claimed.

The monarch had been in her personal quarters when armed police apprehended a man who had broken into the castle grounds.

In a new book called Elizabeth: An Intimate Portrait, author Gyles Brandreth, a close friend of the royals, claims the monarch took the news of the intruder in her stride.

Royal author Gyles Brandreth says the Queen, with Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, was always able to take “the possibility of being in the firing line in her stride”. Picture: Getty Images

He writes that the Queen replied to the news: “Yes, well, that would have put a dampener on Christmas, wouldn’t it?”

The Queen, Brandreth writes, was always able to take “the possibility of being in the firing line in her stride”.

The security threat happened on Christmas Day in 2021, when the man attempted to gain entry to Windsor Castle.

The Queen greets South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa during an audience at Windsor Castle, where the Christmas Day incident took place. Picture: AFP

The Queen was in residence at the time but was not harmed.

She had been waiting to greet her son, now King Charles and his wife Camilla, when the incident occured.

Police apprehended the 19-year-old after they found him outside the castle with the weapon at 8.30am on December 25.

He told the officer on duty that he had come “to kill the Queen”.

The intruder was arrested and charged under the 1842 Treason Act.