Queen Elizabeth was almost shot by guardsman in Buckingham Palace

Queen's reaction to the incident was priceless

A former guard at the Buckingham Palace has revealed he once almost accidentally shot Queen Elizabeth.

The Queen is said to be fond of late-night walks and reportedly walks around the palace grounds when she's struggling with insomnia. However, it turns out that though she has armed guards watching over her at all hours this can sometimes backfire.

The ex-guardsman revealed that on one occasion he was patrolling inside the Palace at 3:00am when he spotted a figure in the darkness. Assuming it was an intruder, he shouted to confirm the identity of the person.

Guardsmen stand to attention in front of Buckingham Palace during the State Opening of Parliament in central London, Britain, May 27, 2015. PHOTO: REUTERS

But to his surprise, it was the Queen. Shocked to discover that it was her and not an intruder, the unnamed guardsman burst with a, “‘Bloody hell, Your Majesty, I nearly shot you.”



Realising it was not the tone to address the queen, the guardsman waited for a dressing down. But the queen is said to have taken the matter rather sportingly and quipped, “That’s quite all right. Next time I’ll ring through beforehand so you don’t have to shoot me.”

The Buckingham Palace declined to comment.

In October last year, a 21-year-old man was arrested for scaling a gate at Queen Elizabeth’s London residence, Buckingham Palace. Several security breaches have taken place at the palace over the years. In May 2016, a man with a conviction for murder climbed over the wall and walked for about 10 minutes around the grounds of the palace before being arrested. He was jailed for four months.

One of the biggest security breaches at Buckingham Palace happened in 1982 when an intruder, Michael Fagan, climbed a wall and wandered into a room where the queen was in bed.

This article originally appeared in The Sun.