On October 13, 2024, two masked men broke into Windsor Castle while the Royal Family was asleep.

The break-in, which was first reported by the Sun newspaper, did not cause harm to the Royal Family but the masked robbers did steal two farm vehicles. According to BBC, “A pick-up truck and quad bike were stolen from the farm and no arrests have been made so far” (Coughlan, Nov 18).

The Sun quoted an anonymous source saying, “They would have to have known the vehicles were stored there before they broke in and known when was the best time to get and escape without being caught. So they must have been watching Windsor Castle for a while” (Wilkinson and Sullivan, Nov 17)

To steal this equipment, the robbers first “used a stolen truck to break through a security gate at night and then scaled a six-foot fence,” said an article by the New York Post (Reuters, Nov 18). FOX News spoke with royal expert Neil Sean who was quoted saying, “Supposedly, armed guards have been [previously] removed because they were viewed as unpleasant for the tourists and the public to see” (Nolasco, Papa, and Trainham, Nov 19) They also quoted Kinsey Schofield, host of the To Di For Daily podcast, stating, “Knowing how expensive royal security costs are, it’s disappointing to discover how ineffective they have been. And while ugly… it sounds like it’s time to invest in some modern technology” (Nolasco, Papa, and Trainham, Nov 19).

Luckily, King Charles and his wife Camilla were not home when this happened but, according to the New York Post, “Prince William and his family were believed to be at Adelaide Cottage, part of the Windsor Castle estate” (Reuters, Nov 18).

Security has reportedly been on high alert after this breach as the Royal Family tries to return to normalcy (Nolasco, Papa, and Trainham, Nov 19).