“I am here to kill the Queen”: Crossbow assassin charged
A man from the UK has been charged after storming the grounds of Windsor Castle armed with a crossbow.
Jaswant Singh Chail allegedly told a police officer, "I'm here to kill the Queen", before being apprehended and handcuffed.
The 20-year-old assailant is being charged under the Treason Act with intending to "injure the person of her majesty Queen Elizabeth II, or to alarm her majesty".
He has also been charged with threats to kill and possession of an offensive weapon.
The incident took place at the royal residence west of London on Christmas Day 2021, when the Queen was staying at the castle.
Prosecutors allege the former supermarket worker from Southampton in southern England was wearing a hood and a mask and carrying a loaded crossbow with the safety catch off.
His attempts to kill the Queen were immediately thwarted and he was taken into police custody.
Prosecutor Kathryn Selby said the Supersonic X-Bow weapon allegedly carried by Chail had the potential to cause "serious or fatal injuries".
Prosecution lawyers maintain Chail wanted revenge on the British establishment for its treatment of Indians and sent a video to about 20 people claiming he was going to assassinate the Queen.
Prosecutors also allege that the man had tried to join the British Army and the Ministry of Defence Police in order to get close to the Royal family to carry out his revenge plan.
Charges under the Treason Act of 1842 are rare, with the last person charged and convicted in 1981.
The man in question, Marcus Sarjeant, was charged under the act after firing blank shots at the Queen as she rode on horseback in the Trooping the Colour parade in London.
He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to five years in prison.
Image credits: Getty Images / Supplied