How a Security Failure Allowed an Intruder to Break Into Queen Elizabeth's Bedroom 44 Years Ago
Buckingham Palace is one of the most secure locations in the world, but a major security failure allowed an intruder to enter the bedroom of Queen Elizabeth II.
Michael Fagan, a London native who was 32 at the time, broke into Buckingham Palace on two occasions. On June 7, 1982, he reportedly entered the iconic landmark and left undetected. Fagan claimed he shimied up a drainpipe to enter through a third-story window into a maid's window. The terrified woman called security, but when they didn't find anyone in her room, they thought she had imagined it. He reportedly also tripped the alarm system twice during his time wandering the halls, but the police turned it off, thinking it was faulty. According to Fagan's report of what happened that first night, he strolled around eating cheese and crackers. He then sat on the throne and drank half of a bottle of wine, waiting to get busted, but finally got bored and left.
"It was harder to get out than get in," Fagan told The Independent during a 2012 interview about that first break-in. "I eventually found a door and walked out into the back gardens, climbed over the wall and walked down the Mall, looking back and thinking, 'Ooh'. I hadn't thought about going in there until that last second when it came into my head to do it, so I was shocked."
Days after roaming around Buckingham Palace, Fagan was arrested for stealing a car in London. He was sent to Brixton prison and released on bail three weeks later. The next day, July 9, 1982, he went to the palace for the second time.
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Fagan scaled the 14-foot-high perimeter wall, which was reportedly topped with revolving spikes and barbed wire, and climbed up a drainpipe. He tripped an alarm upon entry, but it was once again disabled by the guards who thought it was a false alarm. He wandered around until he found his way to the royal apartments, specifically where Queen Elizabeth, then 56 years old, lived. While meandering through the palace, he reportedly broke a glass ashtray and sliced his hand open. When he entered her majesty's chamber, he was covered in blood with a shard of glass.
Although initial reports claimed Fagan and the monarch had a lengthy chat, he clarified that she woke up, saw him, and ran out of the room for help. Unfortunately, due to a gap in their shift change, there was no armed officer outside the queen's door. In hindsight, some systems in place led security staff to be confused about their specific duties, causing a major failure when Elizabeth desperately needed help. No police arrived after she phoned the palace switchboard twice. She used her bedside alarm bell before finally finding a maid in the hallway to go find help.
Paul Whybrew, Elizabeth's longtime page who served by her side until she died in 2022, was out walking her corgis and the first to arrive. Fagan claimed that Whybrew poured him a drink as they waited for police to apprehend him.
Willie Whitelaw, who was serving as Home Secretary at the time, offered his resignation to the Queen because of the "seriously flawed" security plans. However, Elizabeth and Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher refused it.
Fagan was not charged with trespassing in the Queen's bedroom because, at the time, the crime was not considered a criminal offense. He was charged with theft of the wine, but the charges were dropped when he was committed for psychiatric evaluation. In 2005, Buckingham Palace became a designated site, making trespassing a criminal offence.
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As far as Fagan's motive, he told The Independent he didn't "know why" he broke into Buckingham Palace twice, noting he was "high on mushrooms for a long, long time" during those years.
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This story was originally published April 30, 2026 at 6:56 PM.