A woman claiming to be engaged to the Duke of York created a security scare after she was mistakenly allowed into his official residence.
The woman is said to have turned up at Royal Lodge, in Windsor Great Park, on Monday and claimed to have a lunch meeting with Prince Andrew.
The intruder is said to have spent about 20 minutes walking around the gardens before she went into the grade II listed building, where the duke was at home.
She was held in the lobby after asking a member of staff where she could find Andrew, 61.
The woman, who is thought to be Spanish and aged 44, is said to have demanded that a private security guard pay for her cab fare.
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She is said to have arrived in Britain on Saturday, the day of the Duke of Edinburgh’s funeral.
A source told The Sun: “She cut quite a glamorous figure and the guards were completely taken in by her. They had no idea this woman was a total stranger to Andrew and seemingly had a fixation with him.”
After the police were called she claimed she was engaged to the prince and lived with him, telling officers that she was called Irene Windsor.
Maps of the site and other royal residences, including Buckingham Palace, were found in her handbag, the newspaper reported.
She is reported to have had a self-defence cat-shaped key ring which had two sharp prongs.
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Police arrested her on suspicion of burglary. She was later sectioned under the Mental Health Act.
A spokesman for Thames Valley police said: “Thames Valley police were called to the Royal Lodge at Windsor Great Park on Monday morning to reports of a female trespasser.
“The woman, aged 44, was intercepted and arrested. She was subsequently de-arrested and has been sectioned under Section 136 of the Mental Health Act.
“The investigation into the incident continues but there was no risk to any individual on the site. Due to the female being sectioned, we will not be commenting further at this time.”
