Arrest and controlled explosion near Buckingham Palace – Panorama

A few days before the coronation of King Charles III. (74) there was an arrest and a controlled explosion at Buckingham Palace. According to the police, a man approached the palace gate on Tuesday evening and threw several objects on the palace grounds. It was believed to be shotgun cartridges.

The man was arrested on suspicion of possession of a weapon, it said. A suspicious bag he was carrying was detonated in a controlled manner. The area has been cordoned off. According to police, no one was injured. There were initially different reports as to whether King Charles was in the palace at the time. According to the BBC, he didn’t do it, and the dpa also reports it.

“There have been no reports of any shots being fired or injuries to officers or the public,” a police spokesman said. The officers arrested the man immediately. The newspaper The Guardians according to the police do not believe that it is a terrorist incident. The suspect’s mental health is currently under investigation. The arrested man is believed to have acted alone and the incident is being treated as an isolated case. Roads were temporarily closed during the operation.

The events at Buckingham Palace nevertheless dominated the headlines of Britain’s tabloids on Wednesday. The Daily Mail wrote in big letters of a “shotgun shell drama”. In the DailyMirror it was said that the palace was in “lockdown” after the “attack”. The Sun reported, citing eyewitnesses, that the man shouted that he wanted to kill the king before throwing objects over the fence into the palace grounds.

Meanwhile, preparations for the royal event continued

The incident comes just days before a royal mega-event in central London. On Saturday, King Charles and his wife Camilla are to be driven in a procession by carriage from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Abbey to be crowned there. Tens of thousands of onlookers are expected along the route. The police are on a large scale to ensure security. The events now are likely to further increase the tension among the security authorities.

Meanwhile, preparations for the royal event continued. Rehearsals for the procession took place late into the night on Tuesday. As announced by Earl Marshall, who is responsible for the organization, 7,000 military personnel are to take part. The service in the Abbey is said to be attended by 2,300 people, including around 100 heads of state. After returning to Buckingham Palace, the royals traditionally show themselves to their subjects on the balcony of the magnificent building. For six minutes, the Royal Air Force planes thunder over the heads of onlookers and royals.

This isn’t the first time gunmen have attempted to enter British royal palaces. On Christmas Day 2021, a man had gained access to the grounds of Windsor Castle with a loaded crossbow. According to his own statements, he wanted to kill Queen Elizabeth II, who had died in the meantime. The Queen and other members of the Royal Family were in the castle at the time. A policeman stopped the masked man. The man was convicted of high treason, among other things. The sentencing is still pending.