A break in at Windsor Castle has caused a stir, with burglars entering Crown Estate land, near the residence of Kate Middleton, Prince William and their children.
The major breach of security occurred on October 13, but was first reported on Sunday by tabloids, before police confirmed the events with CNN the next day.
According to police reports, masked burglars entered the estate by scaling the fence and making their way through the grounds to their intended target – a farmhouse housing equipment and machinery.
A spokesman for Thames Valley Police confirmed details of the Windsor Castle burglary with The Sun: “At around 11:45 p.m. on Sunday October 13, we received a report of burglary at a property on Crown Estate land near to the A308 in Windsor,” the spokesperson said. “Offenders entered a farm building and made off with a black Isuzu pick-up and a red quad bike. They then made off towards the Old Windsor/Datchet area. No arrests have been made at this stage and an investigation is ongoing.”
The thieves then managed to exit the estate by crashing through the closest security gate with their stolen goods. In a statement to CNN, police noted that no arrests had been made and the investigation was still ongoing.
The recent Windsor Castle burglary is not the first time the Crown land has been the subject of a security scare. In 2021, a man armed with a crossbow managed to breach the protected grounds in an attempt to assassinate the late Queen Elizabeth II. At the time, there were huge questions raised about the levels of security in general.
While the thieves were targeting farming equipment at nearby Shaw Farm, the security gate they smashed through to exit was the closest point of entry to Adelaide Cottage – the home of Will and Kate.
The historic home was built in 1831 and is located on the eastern side of the Windsor Castle grounds. It’s in close vicinity to St George’s Chapel, where numerous royal services have been held including the royal wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, as well as Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank.
It’s believed that Princess Kate and Prince William were at home with their children Georgie, 11, Charlotte, Nine, and Louis, six, at the time of the break in. And, after it was revealed that royal guards had recently been removed from the Shaw Farm gate, questions about security risks have once again been raised.
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This article originally appeared on Marie Claire Australia and is republished here with permission.
