A Royal Wake-Up Call A Royal Wake-Up Call Queen Elizabeth II meets Michael Fagan for a chat in her bedroom Location: Buckingham Palace, SW1A 1AA Description: On July 9th 1982, Queen Elizabeth II was woken through unfamiliar means...on this occasion the Royal carriage clock did not chime... Rather the Queen was awoken by a dishevelled and inebriated looking Michael Fagan, mumbling to himself and swigging a bottle of wine stolen from the Royal cellars. The unemployed builder just wanted a chat and unfortunately, the Queen was in no position to refuse. Being a little worse for wear, Michael's request for a smoke to partner his fine bottle of wine was the Royal chance to raise the alarm and summon help. Michael Fagan was not charged for trespassing in the Queen's bedroom since it was then a civil offence and proceedings would have compromised the Queen's position as head of state and was acquitted of stealing wine from Buckingham Palace in June. Michael went on to claim that he broke in to test the security system and found it wanting...wanting what, a drink!

When Royal Watching Becomes Royal Stalking - History in the Headlines When Royal Watching Becomes Royal Stalking October 4, 2011 By Jennie Cohen Queen Victoria When Royal Watching Becomes Royal Stalking Author When Royal Watching Becomes Royal Stalking URL Google Earlier this week, British authorities revealed that the body of Robert Moore, a man thought to have been obsessed with Queen Elizabeth II, was found near London’s Buckingham Palace three years after his death. He is one of many “royal stalkers” who have developed unhealthy fascinations with members of the British monarchy over the decades. Find out about Moore and other individuals whose delusions drove them to take extreme actions, from stealing Queen Victoria’s undergarments to creeping into Elizabeth’s bedroom for a midnight heart-to-heart. Robert Moore The skeletal remains of Robert Moore, who addressed hundreds of letters and parcels to Queen Elizabeth II, were found near Buckingham Palace in March, British authorities announced this week. It is believed that the homeless American arrived in the United Kingdom in 2007 and camped out on a small island in London’s St. James Park until his death in his late 60s at some point in 2008.

Moore’s numerous mailings to the British monarch, sent over a period of 15 years, apparently included 600-page letters, obscene photographs, a copy of his passport and boxes with labels falsely warning that they contained hazardous substances. Investigators have not determined a cause of death for the expatriate, who is thought to have struggled with mental health problems and alcohol abuse. His island hideout, which is closed to the public and only accessible by boat or wading, offers a direct view of the façade of the queen’s primary residence, including its famous balconies. Léa-Anna B. Robert Moore has been likened to a woman described by the psychiatrist Gaëtan Gatian de Clérambault in his landmark 1921 paper on erotomania, also known as de Clérambault’s syndrome. His patient, a 53-year-old French milliner, became convinced that England’s George V reciprocated her enduring passion and made several trips to London, where she would stand outside the gates of Buckingham Palace awaiting signals from him.

Léa-Anna B., as she is called in the paper, fervently believed the king was expressing his desire for her by moving the castle’s curtains. De Clérambault thought the delusion that bears his name—in which sufferers imagine that a person of higher social standing is making amorous advances toward them—primarily affected single women, although this claim has been disputed. Erotomania has been evoked in cases of stalkers such as John Hinckley Jr., who tried to assassinate President Ronald Reagan in a misplaced attempt to impress actress Jodie Foster. Boy Jones One of Britain’s first celebrity stalkers, the teenage Edward Jones—known to London police as “Boy Jones”—broke into Buckingham Palace at least three times between 1838 and 1841. He would prowl the private apartments of the newly crowned Queen Victoria, where he rummaged through her belongings, slept on her servants’ beds and read her personal letters. On one occasion he was caught red-handed with several pairs of the young monarch’s underwear but acquitted by an amused judge, later returning to hide under a sofa while Victoria conversed with Prince Albert. He stole into the palace one last time after a brief imprisonment.

Tried in secret by government agents and sent to work on a prison ship, Jones became famous for his antics, and his questionable treatment drew criticism from Charles Dickens and other humanitarians. He eventually settled in Perth, Australia, where he allegedly found work as a town crier but was mocked relentlessly for his past misdeeds. Jones died an old man after drunkenly falling off a bridge on Boxing Day 1893. Michael Fagan Buckingham Palace beefed up its security after Boy Jones’ highly publicized incursions, but it evidently wasn’t airtight more than a century later, when a 31-year-old psychiatric patient named Michael Fagan scaled a drainpipe and sauntered into Queen Elizabeth II’s chambers on July 9, 1982. The sleeping monarch awoke to find a strange man perched on the edge of her bed, dripping blood from where he had cut his hand while wandering the palace’s dark corridors. Initially unable to reach the police, Elizabeth engaged Fagan in conversation for at least 10 minutes, listening to him chat about his personal problems and relationship with his four children. Finally, a chambermaid entered the room and shouted, “Bloody hell, ma’am!

What’s he doing in there?” A footman roused from his slumber then seized the loquacious intruder. It turned out that Fagan, who was ordered to spend six months in a mental hospital, had crept into the royal residence just weeks earlier, making off with a bottle of Prince Charles’ white wine. Klaus Wagner An ardent admirer of Diana, Princess of Wales, the German-born surgeon Klaus Wagner because convinced that his beloved’s mother-in-law—whom he dubbed “Elizardbeast”—was an evil creature prophesied in the bible. He supported his theory in interviews and later online with a mathematical calculation equating Queen Elizabeth’s initials, ERII, with 666, a number associated with the devil. Wagner followed Diana around for months, holding up placards meant to express his devotion and warn her of Queen Elizabeth’s wicked intentions; he also regularly distributed leaflets detailing the supposed conspiracy against her outside Buckingham Palace. The 37-year-old drug user was arrested for trailing Diana and sent to a psychiatric hospital in early 1996, a year and a half before her untimely death. Wagner died in 2007.

Bernard Quinn Like her mother Elizabeth, England’s Princess Anne has put up with her fair share of unwanted attention, most famously from a mentally ill man named Ian Ball, who attempted to kidnap her at gunpoint in 1974. She refused to budge from her car, scoffing, “Not bloody likely!” In the early 1990s, a former aerospace engineer divorced his wife to pursue the Princess Royal and began bombarding her with daily letters and poems declaring his love. Bernard Quinn was arrested in 1996 after demanding to see Elizabeth outside Buckingham Palace and again in 2000 after allegedly harassing Anne’s guards. Charged were dropped due to lack of evidence that he posed a real threat, and Quinn was later admitted to a mental facility. Tags Break-in at the Palace – The Sun A SUSPECTED burglar has been arrested inside Buckingham Palace — sparking a major royal security alert. The man broke into the Queen’s London residence at night by scaling a 12ft fence and kicking open a door. A second suspect, thought to be an accomplice, was held in the street outside. The suspected burglar was discovered inside one of its plush state rooms, it was understood last night.

He was said to have made his way to the chamber — decked out with paintings and priceless artefacts — after climbing fence. Dozens of police and security sped to the scene after he set off motion sensors soon after 10pm. The intruder was arrested on suspicion of burglary, trespass and criminal damage to a door. THE SECOND man held outside the London building was arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to burgle. Both men were quizzed extensively before being bailed. Full background checks are being conducted as officials seek to rule out any terrorist connection. Officials had insisted security would not be breached again after Michael Fagan famously broke into the Palace in 1982 and wandered into the Queen’s bedroom while she was sleeping. No royals were present at the time of last Monday’s break-in. But an investigation is under way to ensure the family’s safety is not compromised. The raider was understood to be in one of 19 state rooms open to public tours by day. A source close to the investigation told The Sun: “This breach of security is being treated with the utmost seriousness. “There are many red faces at the fact that a man jumped over the gates and gained access unchallenged. “This individual was deep inside the Palace.

The Queen has been informed about the intrusion and an investigation will set out to ensure that this never happens again.” Treasures adorning the Palace state rooms include paintings by Rembrandt and Rubens and classic English and French furniture. Also currently on display are uniforms, robes and dazzling jewels used on the day of the Queen’s coronation 60 years ago. Scotland Yard told The Sun yesterday: “Police arrested two men following an incident in the vicinity of Buckingham Palace at approximately 22.20 hours on Monday, 2 September. “Both men have been bailed to return to a central London police station and enquiries continue. “A review of the specific circumstances of this incident has been carried out.” Buckingham Palace did not comment last night. PROWLER Michael Fagan hit headlines by breaking into the Queen’s bedroom in Buckingham Palace in the early hours of July 9, 1982. The jobless dad of two evaded Palace and police guards and electronic alarms to reach the sleeping sovereign and share a chat with her. Fagan, then 31, did set off one alarm, but a member of staff assumed it was faulty and silenced it.

He woke the Queen by moving a curtain in her room — and claims she then left immediately to call security. Fagan entered the bedchamber after the police officer outside went off duty and before his replacement arrived. He was arrested and sent to a psychiatric hospital for six months. The Palace is now a “designated site” under the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 — toughening break-in laws. 5 Other Famous Gate Crashers | Mental Floss 5 Other Famous Gate Crashers Image credit: Like us on Facebook It takes a certain kind of chutzpah to crash high profile events. Aspiring reality show stars Tareq and Michaele Salahi, who crashed a state dinner at the White House last week, are just the latest in a long line of publicity-starved trespassers. 1. David Hampton David Hampton crashed his first gate in 1983 when he was denied entrance to the famously selective disco Studio 54. On the spur of the moment, he informed the bouncer that he was, in fact, David Poitier, son of Academy Award winning actor Sidney Poitier. He was not only immediately ushered inside the club, he was also given the full celebrity treatment.

Once he got a taste of the high life, he used his new persona to nab free meals at five star restaurants and to borrow money from and couch-surf at the homes of such celebs as Melanie Griffith, Gary Sinise and Calvin Klein. Hampton was eventually arrested and served time in prison for fraud. His exploits were the inspiration for John Guare's acclaimed play Six Degrees of Separation. 2. Barry Bremen Barry Bremen, a marketing executive from West Bloomfield, Michigan, craves the limelight. He nearly made it to the stadium floor at the 1982 Super Bowl by dressing as the San Diego Chicken. He dressed as an umpire in 1980 and confabbed at home plate with Harry Wendelstedt and Don Denkinger at a World Series game before being discovered. He even once crash dieted 23 pounds off of his 6'4" frame, shaved his legs and spent $1,200 on a custom-made Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader costume. He infiltrated Texas Stadium and managed a "Go Cowboys!" yell before security handcuffed him. Perhaps his most daring escapade came at the 1985 Emmy Awards.

Dressed in a tuxedo, he purchased a single $300 ticket for the ceremony and found himself seated in Row Three. As the show progressed, he noted that many of the winners were seated further back in the auditorium and it took them a few minutes to reach the stage. When Betty Thomas' name was announced for Outstanding Supporting Actress (Hill Street Blues), Bremen jumped out of his seat, loped to the stage and accepted the statue, explaining that Thomas was unable to attend. He was arrested backstage (with a confused Betty Thomas looking on) and spent an hour in jail before posting bail. 3. Michael Fagan To tourists craning their necks at the front gate to see the changing of the guards, Buckingham Palace seems like an impenetrable fortress. But with a combination of determination and plain dumb luck, 31-year-old Michael Fagan bypassed all the security measures in place and ended up in the bedroom of Queen Elizabeth II. Early in the morning of July 9, 1982, Fagan scaled the 14-foot wall (topped with barbed wire) on the southeast side of the Palace. He climbed inside an open window and then wandered along various corridors.

He tripped a silent alarm twice, but both times Palace security simply turned it off, thinking it was an electrical malfunction. He eventually found the unlocked door of the Queen's bedroom and entered. The footman who normally stood guard was outside walking her corgis at the time. Her Majesty awoke to find a strange man sitting on the foot of her bed. With praiseworthy aplomb, she engaged him in conversation and kept him calm; when he asked for a cigarette it gave her an excuse to summon a footman, and Fagan was summarily arrested. 4. Paul Goresh Paul Goresh is the very rare exception to the gate-crashing rule; rather than being arrested, he eventually befriended his target. Goresh was a New Jersey college student, amateur photographer and Beatles fan who came up with a plan to meet his idol, John Lennon. Goresh boldly gained access to the exclusive Dakota apartment building one day in 1979 by dressing in an ersatz uniform and informing the security guard that he was there to repair the Lennon's VCR. He was allowed upstairs, and to Paul's amazement, John Lennon himself actually answered the door.

Lennon was confused and upset that his secretary hadn't alerted him that a repairman was expected (one wasn't, of course; the whole thing was a farce). Surprisingly, John felt bad about his verbal outburst and apologized to Goresh and obliged him with an autograph. In the following months, John and Yoko frequently saw Goresh hanging around outside the Dakota with his camera and John accused him of being a member of the press (this was during John's reclusive "househusband" period). Goresh insisted that he was merely a fan and offered up his roll of undeveloped film as proof. John exposed the roll and Goresh's only request that he didn't break his camera, as it cost $350. Lennon and Goresh developed something of a casual friendship after that—John and Yoko would frequently pose or wave when they spotted him in front of the Dakota. Little did Paul Goresh suspect that he would become a footnote in history when he snapped a photograph of John Lennon signing a copy of Double Fantasy for Mark David Chapman on the evening of December 8, 1980 (pictured). 5.

Aaron Barschak The motives behind self-proclaimed "comedy terrorist" Aaron Barschak's various antics (he's successfully crashed several A-list London parties) seem to change depending upon his mood when he's interviewed. He was either paying silent tribute to British comedian Spike Milligan, or he was afraid of dying without anyone knowing his name. Whatever his reasons, he became a household name in the UK after he crashed Prince William's 21st birthday party in August 2003. Dressed as Osama bin Laden (albeit with a pink skirt), he scaled the wall of Windsor Castle, set off several alarms, was seen by security on closed-circuit television and still managed to get on stage while Will was giving a speech. He was apprehended but not charged; instead a serious investigation into royal security was launched. Bumming a smoke from the queen: When the security bubble bursts - CNN.com Bumming a smoke from the queen: When the security bubble bursts By Bob Greene, CNN Contributor updated 5:07 PM EDT, Sun June 3, 2012 Queen Elizabeth II looks out of the window of her horse-drawn carriage as she leaves Buckingham Palace.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS Bob Greene: In 1982 a man got past everyone at Buckingham palace into the queen's bedroom It made headlines, showing that even the protective bubble of the exalted is not airtight Other breaches -- the Pope's butler, Reagan's stage crasher -- show this, he says Greene: Bizarre incursions are mesmerizing and show life has no guarantees Editor's note: CNN Contributor Bob Greene is a bestselling author whose books include "Late Edition: A Love Story" and "Once Upon a Town: The Miracle of the North Platte Canteen." He appears on "CNN Newsroom" Sundays during the 5 p.m. (ET) hour. (CNN) -- So there he was, sitting on the queen's bed, wearing a soiled T-shirt and jeans, holding a broken ashtray and bleeding from a cut on his hand: A man named Michael Fagan, who was 31 at the time, had climbed a wall of Buckingham Palace, crawled through an open window and made his way to the bedroom of Queen Elizabeth II , who was sleeping. When she awakened to find the guy sitting there staring at her, it is fair to surmise that she was not pleased.

Especially when Fagan asked her if she had a spare cigarette. This happened on July 9, 1982, generating international headlines, and only because the queen survived unharmed does it read like a comedy of errors. The errors were plentiful, including the queen's repeated attempts to summon help, at first to no avail. But now, 30 years later, during the celebration of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee in London this week, it is instructive to recall the monarch's rude awakening by the bleeding intruder who was in search of a smoke. We assume that the handful of people at the absolute pinnacle of life -- the queen being the lead example -- have the means and the staffs and the security teams to insulate themselves from indignities that mere mortals have to put up with. And, most of the time, they do. But when there are breaches of presumed privacy, boy, does it cause a commotion. Follow CNN's live jubilee blog We don't have to go back in history to look for instances of this.

Just consider what Pope Benedict XVI is thinking right now in the wake of the news that his butler, Paolo Gabriele, has been arrested, accused of having the pope's confidential documents in his home. William and Kate arrive at the Thames The queen rides to the flotilla British lads show excitement for pageant Grannies love the queen Serenading Queen Elizabeth II The queen departs the pageant The investigation is still playing out in Rome, but if the allegations prove true and it turns out that Gabriele, one of the few people who had access to the pope's living quarters, including the pope's desk, lifted the information, then the pope will know with certainty that even with his rarified position, he can't count on personal privacy behind the guarded walls of the Vatican. In the United States, President Ronald Reagan, after an assassination attempt on a Washington sidewalk in the second month of his first term, was assured that efforts would be redoubled to make certain no one who wished to hurt him would be able to get that close again. Nancy Reagan was said to be especially adamant that her husband be kept out of harm's way.

So it was almost beyond belief one afternoon in April 1992 when Reagan, out of office but still being protected by the Secret Service, was in Las Vegas to receive an award and was accosted right onstage. Reagan had just been given the award -- a 2-foot-high crystal statue of an eagle -- when a man named Richard Paul Springer, 41, walked through the ring of security around the former president and onto the stage, grabbed the crystal eagle, smashed it forcefully to the floor (with Reagan being struck by the flying glass), and commandeered the microphone. Reagan was hustled offstage by the Secret Service, and Springer, too, was hauled away. But there was widespread incredulity that someone could get past all the federal, local and private security that is always on hand for an appearance by a president or former president. Some breaches are more comical than frightening. Elvis Presley was famously kept away from the gazes and grasping hands of his admirers when he was not performing. His privacy at home was especially important to him. But his old friends and employees sometimes tell the story of what happened when a crate arrived at his home with ventilation holes punched into it.

The delivery service said that fans had sent him, as a gift, a top-pedigree dog. So, according to the story, the crate was carted into the house, and was opened. Out climbed two young women. They were escorted off the property. The persistence of those who infringe upon the privacy of the exalted can be astonishing. It turned out that Michael Fagan, the queen's uninvited visitor, had managed to sneak into Buckingham Palace a month earlier and had helped himself to a bottle of wine. For that he was charged with theft -- but was not charged criminally for the subsequent trespass that took him to her sleeping quarters, because at the time it was considered a civil violation. And Squeaky Fromme, sent to prison for a failed assassination attempt on President Gerald Ford in 1975, wrote to him while she was incarcerated -- a letter described as "strange" by Ford. She was able to reach the president once he had left office -- the letter made it to his home, and he read it -- even while she was locked away from society.

The oddity of these encounters that happen when the personal space of the most protected people on the planet is violated -- the bizarreness of the moments when they are reminded that nothing in life is guaranteed -- can be both mesmerizing and haunting. Just ask Queen Elizabeth, in the unlikely event you ever get close enough. But you probably shouldn't ask her for a cigarette. Follow us on Twitter @CNNOpinion Join us on Facebook/CNNOpinion Bombs, spies, lack of jobs jolt post-Falklands Britain - CSMonitor.com Bombs, spies, lack of jobs jolt post-Falklands Britain By David K. Willis, Staff correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor July 21, 1982 Save for later Saved London — Spectacularly and insistently, unsolved problems are hammering at Britain's door, demanding solution. An ancient society is once again confronted abruptly with the modern world of violence, and weaknesses and historic divisions are spotlighted - all the more dramatically now in the wake of victory in the Falklands and the calling off of two recent train strikes.

Even as a number of trade unions show signs of adjusting to the new world, pessimists here say other British institutions and upper-class establishment attitudes have been found wanting, and remain out of touch with the needs of today. Photos of the Day Photos of the day 02/08 Startling the nation have been: * A reemergence here of the sectarian hatred of Northern Ireland as the Provisional wing of the illegal Irish Republican Army (IRA) took responsibility for the first of two tragic explosions in Hyde Park, central London, July 20. Another bomb went off in Regent's Park some two hours later. Altogether, nine people were killed and almost 50 injured. Windows were blown out and thousands of people in London heard the first blast, causing immediate police fears that Britain was in for a long, hot summer of IRA violence. * Glaring breaches in security procedures in high places continued to come to light, causing incredulity in the House of Commons and revealing the need for urgent reforms. Upper-class disdain for ''Reagan-type security'' is now yielding to belated recognition that, sad as it may be, traditional British reliance on old school ties and gentlemanly ways will no longer do.

Security clearance procedures for senior security work has been shown to be seriously at fault in the case of Queen Elizabeth's personal bodyguard, police Commander Michael Trestrail. He has just resigned after revelations that he had been engaged in homosexual activities for the past 15 years apparently unknown to security officers. If this was not bad enough - coming as it did after an unemployed man, Michael Fagan, easily evaded lax Buckingham Palace security July 9 and spent 10 minutes talking to the Queen in her own bedroom - yet another security lapse has been unearthed. This involves the top-secret government communications center at Cheltenham, which eavesdrops on other countries and shares intelligence with the US. Taxi driver Geoffrey Arthur Prime has been charged with unspecified acts of espionage over the past 13 years, raising speculation that this could be the worst security leak here since the days of Burgess, Philby, and Maclean. Prime is said to speak Russian. * And the dislocations of decades of British industrial decline and slowness to adapt to new technologies rose up anew July 20 with the announcement of the worst unemployment figures in Britain's history.

An expected but still startling jump of 76,000 school graduates unable to find work since last month pushed the total out-of-work figure to 3,190,620. A total of 304,000 young people are out of a job. While that figure is expected to fall somewhat after the summer vacations, adult unemployment is expected to go on rising for months to come, government officials concede, despite strenuous retraining schemes. Thirty thousand jobs are being eliminated each month now and their occupants ''made redundant,'' in the British phrase. Meanwhile, vacancies are not rising noticeably. The prime minister was forced to concede to the House of Commons late July 20 that the figures were ''very disturbing.'' This is a time of strain and stress for Britain. The Falklands victory has clearly heartened Mrs. Thatcher and her Cabinet and led them to be tougher with trade unions and on holding down government spending. Yet the nation is being tested in a number of areas and answers are urgently required. The IRA bombing may have been in response to the conviction of IRA member Gerard Tuite recently. At this writing, no one seemed sure. Certainly the Hyde Park bomb was designed for maximum horrific effect.

Most of central London heard the tremendous blast. It rattled windows up to a mile away. Clearly aimed at the military, at royalty, and at the British establishment all at the same time, the bomb detonated in a car just as the Royal Household Cavalry, Blues and Royals Squadron, was leaving for guard duty at Buckingham Palace. The second bomb went off beneath a bandstand in Regent's Park while the Royal Greenjackets band was playing a lunchtime concert. Eyewitnesses at both places could hardly describe the scenes of death and devastation. The prime minister condemned the bombings in the House of Commons July 20 as ''callous and cowardly crimes'' committed by ''evil and brutal men who know nothing of democracy.'' The government would not rest, she said, until they were brought to justice. The case of Commander Trestrail opens up a range of basic questions about the way officialdom works in this country. How, members of Parliament want to know, could a 15-year homosexual involvement have failed to come to the attention of those officers in the Home Office, the Special Police Branch, the MI5 intelligence service, and the Foreign Office, all responsible for carrying out security clearances?

The involvement, now considered a clear security risk in itself, casts doubt on the effectiveness of the security clearances given to a total of 68,000 government posts in Britain. In May, the security commission headed by Lord Diplock recommended that homosexuality itself not necessarily bar a man to high office in the civil service. But police officials still regard it as an invitation to blackmail. As for the Cheltenham communications center, it is one of the most sensitive in the world, linked to the US, Australia, and New Zealand in sharing intelligence information. Next up When an Intruder Entered Queen Elizabeth's Bedroom By Jennifer Rosenberg Updated January 29, 2016. Early on Friday morning, July 9, 1982, Queen Elizabeth II woke to find a strange, bleeding man sitting at the end of her bed. As scary as the situation must have been, she handled it with royal aplomb. A Strange Man at the End of the Queen's Bed When Queen Elizabeth II woke up on the morning of July 9, 1982, she saw that a strange man was sitting on her bed.

The man, dressed in jeans and a dirty T-shirt, was cradling a broken ashtray and dripping blood onto the royal linens from a lacerated hand. The Queen kept calm and picked up the phone from her bedside table. She asked the operator at the palace switchboard to summon the police. Though the operator did pass the message to the police, the police didn't respond. Some reports say the intruder, 31-year-old Michael Fagan, had planned to commit suicide in the Queen's bedroom but decided it wasn't "a nice thing to do" once he was there.1 He wanted to talk about love but the Queen changed the subject to family matters. continue reading below our video 10 Facts About the Titanic That You Don't Know Fagan's mother later said, "He thinks so much of the Queen. I can imagine him just wanting to simply talk and say hello and discuss his problems."2 Fagan thought it a coincidence that he and the Queen both had four children. The Queen attempted to summon a chambermaid by pressing a button, but no one came. The Queen and Fagan continued to talk. When Fagan asked for a cigarette, the Queen again called the palace switchboard.

Still no one responded. After the Queen had spent ten minutes with the mentally disturbed, bleeding intruder, a chambermaid entered the Queen's quarters and exclaimed, "Bloody hell, ma'am! What's he doing in there?" The chambermaid then ran out and woke up a footman who then seized the intruder. The police arrived twelve minutes after the Queen's first call. How Did He Get into the Queen's Bedroom? This wasn't the first time that protection of the royal monarch had been found lacking, but it had supposedly been increased since the 1981 attack on the Queen (a man fired six blanks at her during the Trooping the Color ceremony). Yet Michael Fagan basically walked into Buckingham Palace - twice. Only a month before, Fagan had stolen a $6 bottle of wine from the palace. Around 6 a.m., Fagan climbed the 14-foot-high wall - topped with spikes and barbed-wire - on the southeast side of the palace. Though an off-duty policeman saw Fagan climbing the wall, by the time he had alerted palace guards, Fagan could not be found. Fagan then walked along the south side of the palace and then along the west side.

There, he found an open window and climbed in. Fagan had entered a room housing King George V's $20 million stamp collection. Since the door to the interior of the palace was locked, Fagan went back outside through the window. An alarm had been set off both as Fagan entered and exited the Stamp Room through the window, but the policeman at the police sub-station (on palace grounds) assumed the alarm was malfunctioning and turned it off - twice. Fagan then went back as he had come, along the west side of the palace, and then continuing along the south side (past his point of entry), and then along the east side. Here, he climbed up a drainpipe, pulled back some wire (meant to keep pigeons away) and climbed into Vice Admiral Sir Peter Ashmore's office (the man responsible for the Queen's security). Fagan then walked down the hallway, looking at paintings and into rooms. Along his way, he picked up a glass ashtray and broke it, cutting his hand. He passed a palace housekeeper who said "good morning" and only a few minutes later he walked into the Queen's bedroom. Normally, an armed policeman stands guard outside the Queen's door at night.

When his shift is over at 6 a.m., he is replaced with an unarmed footman. At this particular time, the footman was out walking the Queen's corgis (dogs). When the public learned of this incident, they were outraged at the lapse of security around their Queen. Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher personally apologized to the Queen and measures were immediately taken to strengthen palace security. 1. Kim Rogal and Ronald Henkoff, "Intruder at the Palace," Newsweek July 26, 1982: 38-39. 2. Spencer Davidson, "God Save the Queen, Fast," TIME 120.4 (July 26, 1982): 33. Bibliography Davidson, Spencer. "God Save the Queen, Fast." TIME 120.4 (July 26, 1982): 33. Rogal, Kim and Ronald Henkoff. "Intruder at the Palace." Newsweek July 26, 1982: 38-39.

Medicine For The Dead: Queen Elizabeth II Might Possibly Be The Coolest Person Ever “Attempting to debate with a person who has abandoned reason is like giving medicine to the dead.” ― Thomas Paine Tuesday, July 17, 2012 Queen Elizabeth II Might Possibly Be The Coolest Person Ever Succeeding her father, King George VI (the subject of the excellent film, The King's Speech ) Her Royal Highness the Princess Elizabeth was proclaimed Queen of England in 1952 . Her coronation took place on 2 June 1953. The Queen recently celebrated her Diamond Jubilee which commemorated Her Majesty's 60th year on the throne. Some interesting facts about Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain which shows me she just might be the coolest person of all time: The Queen's robes were so heavy that at the start of her Coronation she asked the Archbishop of Canterbury to give her a push, saying “ Get me started !”. The Queen keeps a portable hook with a suction cup in her handbag so she can hang it discreetly under tables. In July 1982 unemployed father of four Michael Fagan climbed up a drain-pipe and into the Queen’s bedroom at Buckingham Palace.

He sat on her bed for about 10 minutes as she engaged him in conversation and calmly called for her footman when he asked for a cigarette. Mr. Fagan tells a slightly different version of the story in a recent interview here . Fagan actually broke into the Palace twice! She enjoys reading The Racing Post every day. She takes a keen interest in horses and racing. Her first pony, a Shetland called Peggy, was given to her by her grandfather King George VI when she was 4 years old. Elizabeth continues to ride at Sandringham, Balmoral and Windsor. The Queen also takes interest in horse breeding. Horses bred at the royal studs over the past 200 years have won virtually every major race in Britain. Elizabeth has about 25 horses in training each season. Famously reserved in public, the queen may be a regular cut-up in private, reportedly doing surprisingly skilled impressions. But exactly whom she mimics is any commoner's guess -- her inner circle isn't telling. The queen wakes to the sound of her personal bagpiper every morning. Every morning, she starts the day with a cup of tea.

At 7.30am the “morning tray” is brought into her bedroom laden with a silver teapot, a water jug and milk... as well as a plate of biscuits for her dogs. She speaks fluent French and often uses the language for audiences and state visits. She does not require an interpreter. In addition to being fluent in French— The Queen also speaks Latin on occasion. During an address in late 1992, she referred to the preceding twelve months as an “annus horribilis,” a horrible year. Two of her children—Andrew and Anne—got divorced; Charles and Diana separated; and Windsor Castle suffered severe fire damage. The Queen and her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh , introduced small, informal luncheon parties at Buckingham Palace to meet distinguished people from all professions, trades and vocations. The first was held on May 11, 1956, and the tradition continues to this day. There are usually six to eight guests and two members of the royal household in attendance. The Queen is the only person in Britain who can drive without a license or number plate on her state car. Every year she sends Christmas trees to Westminster Abbey, Wellington Barracks, St.

Paul's Cathedral in London, St. Giles' Cathedral in Edinburgh, the Canongate Kirk in Edinburgh, Crathie Kirk and local schools and churches in the Sandringham area of England. Elizabeth learned to drive in 1945, when she joined the women's branch of the British army. Both she and Winston Churchill's daughter were members of the group, which was called the Auxiliary Territorial Service. She was a Girl Guide (1937), a Scouting movement for girls and a Sea Ranger (1943), a section of the Girl Guides focused on sailing. She drove a truck during World War II. After months of begging her father to let his heir pitch in, Elizabeth—then an 18-year-old princess—joined the Women’s Auxiliary TerritorialService during World War II. Known as Second Subaltern Elizabeth Windsor, she donned a pair of coveralls and trained in London as a mechanic and military truck driver. The queen remains the only female member of the royal family to have entered the armed forces and is the only living head of state who served in World War II.

The queen knows more about motor vehicles than just how to drive them; she learned how to fix truck engines during World War II as a member of the Auxiliary Territorial Service, the women's branch of the British army. She sent an email in 1976. On March 26, 1976, Queen Elizabeth sent her first email while taking part in a network technology demonstration at the Royal Signals and Radar Establishment, a research facility in Malvern, England. The message was transmitted over ARPANET , the forerunner of the modern Internet. She is considered the first head of state to have used electronic mail. She was shot at by a teenager. During her birthday celebration on June 13, 1981, shots rang out as Elizabeth rode her horse in a parade near Buckingham Palace. MarcusSarjeant , a 17-year-old who idolized the assassins of John F. Kennedy and John Lennon, had fired six blank shots in the queen’s direction. Swiftly subdued by police, the teen would spend three years in a psychiatric prison. Elizabeth, meanwhile, merely calmed her startled horse and resumed her procession.

She made her first public address at the age of 14, on The Children’s Hour, a BBC radio broadcast. (The entire speech is in the video below) It was 1940, one of the most devastating years of World War II, and the young princess emphasized the necessity of hope: "We are trying to do all we can to help our gallant sailors, soldiers and airmen, and we are trying, too, to bear our share of the danger and sadness of war. We know, every one of us, that in the end all will be well." she said. She is a patron of the Royal Pigeon Racing Association and maintains the Royal Lofts at Sandringham . The Queen put on a mining outfit and went 500ft underground at Rothes Colliery in 1958. The only year she did not deliver a Christmas message was 1969. She felt the public had seen enough of her in a TV documentary. An avid reader, she loves crime thrillers by PD James, Agatha Christie and Dick Francis.

She laughed when she shook hands with shot-put champion Geoff Capes at the Braemar Highland Games in 1982 and their hands stuck together because of the resin he used for his grip. She joined crowds in London to celebrate VE day on May 8, 1945 . In her diary she wrote: “Trafalgar Square, Piccadilly, Pall Mall, walked simply miles. Saw parents on balcony at 12.30am – ate, partied, bed 3am!” - Note she was 19 years old at the time and was Princess Elizabeth After a Royal Command performance comedian Tommy Cooper asked her: “Do you mind if I ask you a personal question?” “No,” replied the Queen, “but I might not be able to give you a full answer.” “Do you like football?” asked Cooper. “Well, not really,” said the Queen. “In that case,” said Cooper, “do you mind if I have your Cup Final tickets?’” Mr. Cooper actually died on stage during a live performance in 1984. “She has an air of authority and reflectiveness astonishing in an infant,” remarked Winston Churchill, when Elizabeth was just two.

When her father unexpectedly became King, Princess Margaret, then six, said to her: “Does that mean you’re going to be queen? Poor you.” Not wanting to be left behind by technology, the British monarchy has a website , Facebook page and Twitter account . There is said to be a Big Mouth Billy Bass singing fish on top of the grand piano at Balmoral . Long live the Queen!

Question: Who did Michael Fagan famously wake up in London in July 1982?
Answer: The Queen