‘This is an absolute shocker for the regiment.
Then the police were called and he was ushered outside. Recognised by their red jackets and black bearskin hats and have a ceremonial role as protectors of Windsor Castle and Buckingham Palace.Ī source continued: ‘Only the next day did anyone do any checks. The Ministry of Defence website describes it as ‘an elite fighting force’. The Coldstream Guards is the oldest continuously serving regiment in the British Army and is known for its high-profile ceremonial duties.įormed in 1650, it is also an infantry regiment with a hard-won reputation. Yet even after spinning these tales – including the bizarre claim his organs had been transplanted with ‘g-force-resistant’ ones – he was given a room for the night inside the barracks, where hundreds of troops are based. He even claimed he had donated some of his internal organs,’ the source told TalkTV. ‘Later on, he claimed to have worked as a test pilot for ejector seats.
The source added: ‘He then spent the evening drinking in the mess bar and telling stories about serving in Iraq and winning a medal for gallantry. The Queen, pictured in Windsor Castle, was in Sandringham for Easter while the intruder was in the barracks So the blokes on the gate let him in and directed him to the officers’ mess.’ One added: ‘He said he was a priest called Father Cruise who was a friend of the battalion padre, Reverend Matt Coles. Last night, horrified defence officials launched an urgent investigation into the episode.ĭefence sources said the as-yet unidentified man approached the front gate at Victoria Barracks, home to the historic regiment, on the evening of April 26. Remarkably, only after he had eaten breakfast in the mess the following morning – 16 hours later – were concerns raised about his real identity. The man, who is understood to suffer from mental health issues, then spent hours drinking with senior members of the guards before being invited to stay the night in the plush officers’ mess. In one of the most shocking security blunders at a UK military base in years, the intruder was ushered inside the Coldstream Guards headquarters without showing any identification. A fantasist was welcomed inside a barracks just yards from Windsor Castle by guards protecting the Queen – after he pretended to be a priest.