Man accused of threatening to kill Queen in Windsor Castle crossbow incident to enter plea

Supersonic X-Bow weapon he is accused of carrying had potential to cause “serious or fatal injuries”, prosecution says

Court artist sketch by Elizabeth Cook of Jaswant Singh Chail, from Southampton (PA Wire)

A man charged with treason after allegedly plotting to kill the late Queen with a loaded crossbow is due to enter pleas in court.

Jaswant Singh Chail, 20, is accused of carrying a loaded crossbow at Windsor Castle on Christmas Day last year.

Chail will appear at the Old Bailey on Wednesday to face three charges, including an offence under the Treason Act.

The charge under Section Two of the Act states that “on 25 December 2021 at Windsor Castle, near to the person of the Queen, you did wilfully produce or have a loaded crossbow with intent to use the same to injure the person of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, or to alarm her Majesty”.

A separate charge alleges Chail made “a threat intending that the other would fear that it would be carried out to kill a third person, namely Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second”.

A third charge states he had “an offensive weapon, namely a loaded crossbow” in a public place.

The prosecution said the allegations were not being treated as a “terrorism offence” but had been dealt with by the Counter-Terrorism Division.

In 1981, Marcus Sarjeant was jailed for five years after pleading guilty under the 1842 Treason Act, which makes it an offence to assault the Queen, or have a firearm or offensive weapon in her presence with intent to injure or alarm her or to cause a breach of peace.

He had fired blank shots at the Queen while she was riding down The Mall in London during the Trooping the Colour parade in 1981.

The last person to be convicted under the separate and more serious 1351 Treason Act was William Joyce, also known as Lord Haw-Haw, who collaborated with Germany during the Second World War.

Chail, from Southampton, Hampshire, is due to appear at the Old Bailey in London before senior judge Mr Justice Sweeney from 9.30am.