Royal Family Home Scandals: From Fires to Break-Ins

The Royal Family[1] have world-class security at their disposal at all times but they've still endured frightening break-ins and uncontrollable fires over the years. One notorious incident took place in 1982 when an intruder bypassed Buckingham Castle's barbed wire fences and managed to get all the way into the late Queen Elizabeth II[2]'s bedroom before he was apprehended. The intruder couldn't actually be charged with trespassing due to a quirk of British law at the time, so he agreed to undergo psychiatric treatment to avoid prosecution for stealing a bottle of wine from the palace.

More recently, there have been three separate break-in attempts at Windsor Castle, including an incident on Christmas Day 2021 where a man armed with a crossbow unsuccessfully tried to assassinate Queen Elizabeth II. Keep scrolling for a look back at some frightening incidents that took place at royal residences:

Windsor Castle Break-In

Thames Valley Police confirmed that an intruder was in custody after attempting to break into the royal family's country estate. Prince William[3] and Kate Middleton[4] live on the grounds of Windsor Castle at Adelaide Cottage with their children Prince George, born 2013, Princess Charlotte, born 2015, and Prince Louis, born 2018. A police spokesperson told People[5], "At just after 1 p.m. on Sunday a man entered restricted grounds at Windsor Castle.

He was quickly challenged by Met police officers and arrested. He did not enter the inner grounds of Windsor Castle." The Metropolitan Police confirmed that the suspect was arrested on "suspicion of trespass on a protected site and possession of Class A drugs," before being released on bail.

"Officers in the grounds spotted the man just after 13:00 hrs on Sunday, 1 June and quickly arrested him. He was then passed into the custody of Thames Valley Police," the Metropolitan Police statement added.

Princess Diana Home Targeted in Arson

The late Princess Diana's brother Charles Spencer wrote via X in May 2025 that he was "stunned" that their childhood home - known as Althorp House - was targeted in a suspected arson[6]. "Stunned to learn that one of ?@AlthorpHouse ?'s farmhouses - fortunately, unoccupied at the time - was apparently burnt down by vandals last night.

With thanks to ? @northantsfire ? for doing their very best. So very sad that anyone would think this a fun thing to do," he wrote. A Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service spokesperson confirmed to BBC News[7] that first responders arrived to find a disused farmhouse "fully on fire." Four fire crews were dispatched to subdue the blaze at Althorp House.

An investigation into the fire was ongoing in June 2025. Police suggested the fire was caused deliberately but the exact cause is "yet to be determined." A previous fire destroyed an industrial unit at Althorp House in September 2024.

Althorp House hosted an exhibition about Princess Diana's early life between 1998 and 2013.

Masked Break-In Attempt

In November 2024, Sky News[8] reported that masked thieves stole two farm vehicles after breaking into Windsor Castle[9] while Prince William and his family slept nearby in Adelaide Cottage. Two masked men reportedly scaled the 6-foot fence to illegally gain entry to the property and then commandeered a truck to burst through a security gate. The pair fled the scene a short time later after stealing a red quad bike and an Isuzu pick-up truck.

"At around 11:45 p.m. on Sunday 13 October, we received a report of burglary at a property on Crown Estate land near to the A308 in Windsor," Thames Valley Police said in a statement at the time. "Offenders entered a farm building and made off with a black Isuzu pick-up and a red quad bike. They then made off towards the Old Windsor/Datchet area. "No arrests have been made at this stage and an investigation is ongoing."

No further updates have been announced publicly.

Santa Barbara Security Breach

The New York Post[10] reported in July 2022 that Prince Harry[11] and Meghan Markle[12] had six security alerts at their Montecito, California mansion within a 16-month period. Two intruder incidents allegedly occurred within 12 days of each other. In the first instance, a suspected trespasser got onto the couple's property on their wedding anniversary of May 17, 2022.

A second incident involved the couple's security team confronting an alleged trespasser who agreed to leave the property without further action taken. Another suspected intruder was caught on the property in 2020 and ordered not to return.

Crossbow Intruder

Jaswant Singh Chail pleaded guilty to one count of trying to "injure or alarm" the Queen under the Treason Act, possession of an offensive weapon and making threats to kill following a botched Christmas Day 2021 break-in attempt at Windsor Castle, Sky News[13] reported. Prosecutors said in court that Chail formulated a plan over the course of a year to try to assassinate Queen Elizabeth II as revenge for the 1919 Jallianwala Bagh massacre in India, where hundreds were killed during a clash between British colonial forces and independence activists.

Chail allegedly vlogged about his intention to invade Windsor Castle while armed with a crossbow and wearing a Star Wars mask. Prosecutors discovered that the suspect was encouraged to carry out his plan by an AI chatbot that he considered his "girlfriend." "I'm sorry for what I've done and what I will do.

I'm going to attempt to assassinate Elizabeth, Queen of the Royal Family," he said in one chilling vlog. Police apprehended Chail on the grounds of Windsor Castle before he could carry through his plot. He was sentenced to nine years in custody.

Windsor Castle Fire

A raging fire[14] destroyed 115 rooms - including nine State Rooms -- at Windsor Castle in the early morning hours of November 20, 1992 after a spotlight ignited a curtain inside Queen Victoria's Private Chapel.

By the time the fire was spotted, it had already moved beyond the chapel and engulfed the nearby St George's Hall next door. As firefighters were busy using 36 pumps to try to extinguish the flames, royal staff desperately tried removing as many works of art and other historic items from the property before they were burned. Their remarkable efforts were successful, as only a rosewood sideboard and a Sir William Beechey painting were lost in the blaze.

Fire crews eventually contained the situation after 15 hours. It took an extensive reconstruction effort over the course of five years to fully restore Windsor Castle by 1997.

Bedroom Intruder

Michael Fagan broke into Buckingham Palace twice in July 1982, including getting into Queen Elizabeth II's bedroom[15] in his second attempt.

Fagan allegedly made it over barbed wire fencing on Buckingham Palace's walls and then scaled a drainpipe, before entering the royal family's living quarters. The Queen woke up to find Fagan holding a shard of glass at her bedside, so she engaged him in a lengthy conversation in order to keep him occupied. When her attempt to alert the palace switchboard went unanswered, she finally used the alarm bell at her bedside.

Fagan was apprehended but wasn't actually charged with trespassing in the Queen's bedroom due to a quirk in British law at the time. (It wasn't until Buckingham Palace became a "designated site" in 2005 that trespassing there became a criminal offense.) The intruder was charged with theft of wine from the property but the Palace ultimately dropped all changes when he agreed to undergo psychiatric care. Netflix's hit series The Crown[16] dramatized the ordeal in the season four episode "Fagan," where Slow Horses star Tom Brooke played the intruder and Olivia Colman portrayed Queen Elizabeth II.

Cigarette Burns

Former Buckingham Palace kitchen staffer Agnes Cooke revealed in his book Yes, Ma'am: The Secret Life of Royal Servants that Prince Philip's mother Princess Alice of Battenberg repeatedly caused damage while taking cigarette breaks with a lady-in-waiting working for the royal family in the 1960s (via Marie Claire[17]).

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"Well, there was a lady-in-waiting who was very friendly with Philip's mother, Princess Alice of Battenberg, when Alice was living at Buckingham Palace, and they used to smoke cigarettes together in Alice's apartment -- so much so that they regularly set fire to it," Cooke confirmed. She went on, "And despite being very grand indeed -- a member of one of Britain's oldest and most aristocratic families -- this particular lady-in-waiting used to wander about with a cigarette stuck behind her ear, like a coal miner or a carpenter." Princess Alice of Battenberg died in 1969 after spending the final two years of her life living at the palace.

Just For You

References

1. ^ The Royal Family (www.usmagazine.com)
2. ^ Queen Elizabeth II (www.usmagazine.com)
3. ^ Prince William (www.usmagazine.com)
4. ^ Kate Middleton (www.usmagazine.com)
5. ^ People (people.com)
6. ^ a suspected arson (www.usmagazine.com)
7. ^ BBC News (www.bbc.com)
8. ^ Sky News (news.sky.com)
9. ^ breaking into Windsor Castle (www.usmagazine.com)
10. ^ The New York Post (nypost.com)
11. ^ Prince Harry (www.usmagazine.com)
12. ^ Meghan Markle (www.usmagazine.com)
13. ^ Sky News (news.sky.com)
14. ^ A raging fire (www.rct.uk)
15. ^ getting into Queen Elizabeth II's bedroom (news.bbc.co.uk)
16. ^ The Crown (www.usmagazine.com)
17. ^ Marie Claire (www.marieclaire.com)