Stalker allowed to stroll into palace grounds, just 250m away from Queen Elizabeth II

The palace has been hit with an “extraordinary breach of security” after guards offered a stalker a bed for the night, just 250m away from Windsor Castle.

A stalker claiming to be a priest was allowed into barracks by Royal Guardsman protecting the Queen in an astonishing security blunder.

Soldiers at Victoria Barracks, just yards from Windsor Castle, were approached at the gate by a man claiming to be a priest and a friend of the padre to the Coldstream Guards at the base, The Sun reports.

Without showing any identification or credentials, he was allowed in and spent the night eating and drinking in the Officer’s Mess.

The impostor spent the night drinking with senior officers while spinning stories of how he had served in Iraq.

He was then offered a bed for the night.

The security breach has left guards scrambling. Chris Jackson / POOL / AFP.

Sources said the alarm was finally raised in the morning after he had been given breakfast.

Police were called and he was found to be a “fantasist” and escorted from the premises.

Last night the Ministry of Defence was conducting an urgent investigation into the appalling security breach which allowed the stalker to be present for nearly 16 hours.

The Queen – who had spent Easter at Sandringham – returned to Windsor Castle just a couple of hours after he was removed.

Last night a source said: “This is just an extraordinary breach of security.

“The guy turned up at the gate in the evening and said his name was Father Cruise and claimed to be a friend of the battalion’s Padre Rev Matt Coles.

“He was invited in and offered something to eat in the Officer’s Mess.

The Victoria Barracks, where the stalker was found, is just 250 metres from Windsor Castle. Picture: Jonathan Bradyl/ Getty Images.

‘Drinking with the officers’

“Within a couple of hours, he was drinking with the officers in the bar and telling them stories of how he had served in Iraq.

“He was telling lots of tall stories and the lads were enjoying his banter and having a few drinks.

“It was only later in the evening when he started talking about how he had worked as an ejector-seat test pilot and had donated some of his organs that the chaps started to get suspicious.

“But in any event he was allowed a bed for the night.

“Checks were made in the morning and it was apparent this guy wasn’t a bona fide priest and the police were called.”

The fake priest also told Coldstream Guards officers that he had been decorated with a medal for bravery during the Iraq War.

And suspicions were raised after he told them he had trained as an ejector seat pilot after being transplanted with “g-force-resistant” internal organs.

The Coldstream Guards stationed at Windsor Castle are tasked with protecting the Queen. Picture: Andrew Winning-WPA Pool/Getty Images.

The breach comes as William and Kate plan to move to Windsor full-time and take up residence at Adelaide Cottage in the grounds.

Sources told TalkTV the man was known to police locally as a man suffering from mental health issues. He was not arrested.

Last night the Ministry of Defence was urgently trying to establish how the breach occurred.

‘Thoroughly investigated’

An Army spokesperson said: “The Army takes this breach of security extremely seriously and it will be thoroughly investigated as a matter of priority.

“This incident is now part of an ongoing investigation and it would therefore be inappropriate to comment further at this time.”

A Thames Valley Police spokesman said: “We received a report of an intruder at Victoria Barracks in Sheet Street, Windsor, at 9.20am on Wednesday.

“Officers attended and removed the intruder from the barracks. No further action was required.”

Victoria Barracks is just 250 metres from Windsor Castle.

The Coldstream Guards are based there to protect Her Majesty and carry out ceremonial duties.

They have previously played a key role in Prince Phillip’s funeral and the Queen’s Jubilee.

In December a security alert was raised after a man armed with a crossbow was seen trying to scale the walls of Windsor Castle.

A video clip was later uncovered by The Sun showing a masked figure holding a crossbow, saying they would “attempt to assassinate Elizabeth, Queen of the Royal Family” in a “revenge” mission. It also referred to the 1919 Jallianwala Bagh Massacre, or Massacre of Amritsar, when British troops opened fire on a large crowd of unarmed Indians in an open space known as the Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar in the Punjab region of India.

This article was originally published on The Sun and has been reproduced with permission