Man, Believed To Be Armed, Arrested Outside Buckingham Palace
Police conduct a ‘controlled explosion’ of the man’s bag, deemed by authorities to be ‘suspicious.’ Charles and Camilla were not present at the palace at the time of the incident.
A man, believed to be armed, is under arrest at London after approaching Buckingham Palace, a center of attention as King Charles III prepares for his coronation Saturday, and throwing what are believed to be shotgun shells onto the palace grounds, police said. Police suspect he was carrying a “suspicious weapon,” BNO News reported.
The man was also carrying what police called a “suspicious bag,” the police said, leading authorities to cordon off the area and conduct a “controlled explosion” of the item, police said.
Charles and the queen consort, Camilla, were not believed to be at Buckingham Palace at the time of the arrest, the AP reported. Palace officials declined to comment, saying the incident was a police matter.
Viewers tuning in to the television program of a Member of Parliament, Jacob Rees-Mogg, at 8.00 p.m. learned — live — of the incident at Buckingham Palace.
Mr. Rees-Mogg and his guest on the “State of the Nation” program, royal historian Michael Cole, were removed to a portable hut from their perch outside Buckingham Palace, prepared in advance of the coronation.
GB News were informed that about an hour earlier the man had been arrested by police. “State of the Nation” began its broadcast, informing viewers why police had removed them from the scene when, live on air, police returned to remove them from the area entirely, when an explosion was heard in the distance — reported by police to have been a controlled explosion.
Dan Wootton continued the show from GB News headquarters, when Mr. Rees-Mogg wound up his show from nearby Green Park that lies next to the Palace. It was reported that no shots were fired and no one was injured. However, the royal residences remain on lockdown.
Charles had been meeting earlier with the Australian prime minister and security measures were at high level. Throughout it all, the Royal Standard flew outside Buckingham Palace. At the time of the incident, Charles is believed to have been working from Clarence House, where he and Camilla have been living while Buckingham Palace is under renovations.
According to the official police statement, “Officers quickly detained the man at around 19:00 hrs . . . after he approached the gates of Buckingham Palace SW1 and threw a number of items — suspected to be shotgun cartridges — into the Palace grounds.
“Cordons are in place after the man was also found to be in possession of a suspicious bag. Officers remain at the scene and further enquiries are ongoing,” concluded the statement.
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Correction: At the time of the incident at Buckingham Palace, Charles is believed to have been working from Clarence House. An earlier version of this article misstated where Charles was located during the incident.
