UK police probe video of man with crossbow ‘threatening to kill Queen Elizabeth’

The suspect claimed he will ‘attempt to assassinate the monarch’ in revenge for the 1919 massacre of Sikhs in British-ruled India

The 19-year-old, who was arrested for breaking into Windsor Castle, is being held for mental health treatment

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Britain’s Queen Elizabeth. Photo: Reuters

Published: 8:35pm, 27 Dec 2021

British police said on Monday they were assessing a video purportedly made by a man who tried to break into a castle where Queen Elizabeth was spending Christmas in which he said he wanted to kill her.

In the video, obtained by The Sun tabloid, a masked figure in a dark hoodie holding a crossbow claims he will “attempt to assassinate Elizabeth, queen of the royal family”.

The figure addresses the camera with a distorted voice and identifies himself as an Indian Sikh intent on “revenge” for an infamous 1919 massacre of Sikhs in British-ruled India.

The video was shared on the social media platform Snapchat, around 24 minutes before a suspect was detained early on Christmas Day by armed police within the grounds of Windsor Castle, west of London.

The 19-year-old arrested is being held for mental health treatment, after officers recovered a crossbow during the brief security breach, according to London’s Metropolitan police.

“Following the man’s arrest, detectives are assessing the contents of a video,” the force said on Monday.