Reuters
The man caught stalking the grounds of Windsor Castle armed with a crossbow who told authorities he was there to murder Queen Elizabeth II pleaded guilty to treason on Friday.
Jaswant Singh Chail, 21, was arrested on Christmas Day in 2021 while the late monarch was living at Windsor Castle in southeast England during the COVID pandemic. As well as admitting a treason charge of intending to injure or alarm the queen, Chail pled guilty to possession of an offensive weapon and making threats to kill while speaking at London’s Old Bailey via video link from a high-security psychiatric hospital.
Before carrying out his plan, Chail had reportedly attempted to join the U.K. Ministry of Defence in the hope of getting near to the royals. On the day he was detained, Chail climbed up the castle walls with a rope ladder and was able to wander around the castle grounds for around two hours.