HOW TO MEET THE QUEEN IN BED: THE SPECTACULAR PALACE BREAK-IN OF 1982

It was not the first time he had tried tomeet the Queen.

Fagan: 'Just wanted to say hello'

In June, 1982, Michael Fagan had shinniedup a drainpipe and entered Buckingham Palace through an unlocked window.

The window belonged to the bedroom ofhousemaid Sarah Carter. She was sitting on her bed at about 11pm when she wasdisturbed by a noise outside. ‘Turning towards the window, I saw some fingerson the outside of the frame,’ she said. ‘They were a few inches up from thesill itself.

'We are not amused.'

‘I saw a fleeting glimpse of a man’s face.Then I ran out of the room into the corridor, shutting the door behind me.’

As she did so, Michael Fagan pulled himselfthrough the window and slid down into the bedroom. He was inside Buckingham Palace.

He would later justify his actions bysaying that he wanted to prove the laxity of security. He had previously takenhis children to see the Queen’s residence (from the outside) and was surprisedhow few security guards there were.

Now, once inside, he decided to explore. Hewandered down corridors, noting who slept where. ‘Princess Anne was in one roomand Captain Mark Phillips in another. I decided not to disturb them.’

We leave the windows open at night

When he saw another door marked PrincePhilip, he could not resist turning the handle. But the bedroom was empty.‘They were out seeing President Reagan.’

Fagan passed the post-room and poked hishead around the door. When he saw a bottle of Californian wine, he opened itand drank half the bottle.

Housemaid Sarah Carter had by now raisedthe alarm and the hunt was on to find the intruder. But no one thought tosearch the post-room, where Fagan was enjoying Prince Charles’s wine. Heeventually left the palace without being traced.

Hey, did you see anything strange just then?

A month later, Fagan decided to break intoBuckingham Palace once again. This time, he was determined to see the queen.

At around 6am on 9 July, 1982, he climbedthe 14-foot perimeter wall (topped with barbed wire and spikes) and jumped downinto the garden. He noticed an open window on the palace’s west side andclimbed inside.

He found himself in the locked room housingKing George Vs stamp collection, worth £20 million.

'I just want to talk with her.'

Unable to enter the rest of the palace, heclimbed back outside and pulled himself up a drainpipe that led into the officeof the man responsible for the Queen’s security.

He had by now triggered two alarms, but thepolice assumed the system was malfunctioning and they turned it off - twice.

Fagan walked along the upper floorcorridor, admiring the paintings. At one point he picked up a glass ashtray andbroke it, cutting his hand. He also passed a palace housekeeper who said ‘goodmorning’. A few minutes later, he found himself outside the queen’s bedroom.

'Was he bonkers? His mother thought not.'

Her room should have been guarded, but thearmed policeman’s shift had ended and the footman replacing him had not yetarrived (he was walking the Queen’s corgis).

The Queen awoke with a start when Fagantwitched her bedroom curtain. He then sat on her eiderdown and started to chat.

Twice the Queen phoned for police, but theydidn’t come. When Fagan asked for cigarettes, she phoned again. They werefinally brought by a maid. Only when the maid didn’t return to her work stationdid footman Paul Whybrew realise something was wrong. He went to investigate.

Whybrew later recalled that Fagan keptinsisting he wanted to chat with ‘my queen.’

Fagan: no need for a crowbar.

‘I tried to keep himcalm and he said he was all right... I noticed his breath smelled of alcohol.’

Whybrew asked Fagan:‘How did you get here?’ Fagan replied: ‘I just want to talk to her.’

To stall for time,Mr Whybrew told him: ‘All right but let her get dressed first.’ He then askedif Fagan would like a drink: Fagan said he’d like a Scotch.

Whybrew handed him aglass of whiskey just as PC Cedric Robert arrived and led him away. He waslater taken to court to be tried.

Fagan’s crime wasdeemed to be a civil rather than a criminal offence and he was therefore notcharged with trespass. Instead, he was convicted of theft from his first visit(the half bottle of wine) and committed to psychiatric care. He spent sixmonths in an asylum before being released in January 1983.

Commenting on thecase, Fagan’s mother said: ‘He thinks so much of theQueen. I can imagine him just wanting to simply talk and say hello and discusshis problems.’

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