A couple have been arrested after breaching the grounds of the Queen’s Windsor estate in the second security scare in a fortnight.
A man aged 31 and a woman aged 29, believed to be his girlfriend, were arrested after a report that two trespassers had been in the grounds of the Royal Lodge at Windsor Great Park in Berkshire on the afternoon of April 25, it emerged yesterday.
The spot is near to where the Queen, who is living in Windsor Castle, walks her dogs.
The Duke of York, 61, lives on the grounds with his former wife, Sarah, and is understood to have been at home during both breaches, which have raised concerns about the security of the royal family.
The couple, from London, were arrested by Thames Valley police less than two weeks after a 43-year-old woman broke into the estate.
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That woman was reportedly found in possession of maps of Royal Lodge — the Duke of York’s home — and “a self-defence key ring in the shape of a cat with two sharp prongs” in her handbag.
She is understood to have talked her way into his home on April 19, and spent 20 minutes in the grounds after telling security guards she was having lunch with the Queen’s son, according to The Sun.
She later made her way into the home and asked a member of staff where she could find the duke, saying that she was his fiancée and had come to marry him, the newspaper reported.
The woman had allegedly arrived in Windsor in a taxi and had even persuaded the duke’s security guards to pay her fare.
The police said that the woman was stopped and later detained under Section 136 of the Mental Health Act but there was no risk to anyone on the site.
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Ken Wharfe, who was Diana, Princess of Wales’s personal protection officer for seven years, told The Sun: “When you take these incidents into account then it is a farce.
“It is totally unacceptable and makes the Queen vulnerable. This is very worrying and things really need to change.”
A police spokesman said: “Two people, a 29-year-old woman and a 31-year-old man, both from London, were arrested on suspicion of being found in or upon enclosed premises and have been released under investigation while inquiries continue.
“There was no risk to any individual on the site.”
A spokesman for Buckingham Palace declined to comment.
