Man caught at Windsor Castle with crossbow charged with treason and threatening to kill the Queen

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A man caught at Windsor Castle armed with a crossbow has been charged with a treason offence and making threats to kill the Queen.

Jaswant Singh Chail, 20, was arrested at the official royal residence on Christmas Day - when the 95-year-old monarch was present at the castle celebrating with family.

Following an investigation by the Metropolitan Police’s Counter Terrorism Command, he has been charged with making threats to kill, possession of an offensive weapon, and an offence under the 1842 Treason Act.

Mr Chail, from Southampton, is accused of “being near to the person of the Queen, wilfully producing a loaded crossbow with intent to use the same to injure the person of her majesty”.

The Victorian law makes it illegal to “have a firearm or offensive weapon in the Queen’s presence with intent to injure or alarm her or to cause a breach of peace”, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said.

Mr Chail is currently being held in custody and is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on 17 August.

In 1981, a man was jailed for five years under the same treason law after pleading guilty to firing blank shots at Queen Elizabeth as she rode a horse down The Mall as part of the Trooping the Colour ceremony.

Nick Price, head of its special crime and counter-terrorism division said: “The CPS has authorised the Metropolitan Police to charge Jaswat Singh Chail with offences after he was arrested in the grounds of Windsor Castle on 25 December 2021 carrying a crossbow.

“The CPS reminds all concerned that criminal proceedings against Mr Chail are active and that he has the right to a fair trial.”