Man who planned to kill Queen Elizabeth II with crossbow at Windsor Castle sentenced to nine years in prison
The 21-year-old becomes the first person to be sentenced under the Treason Act of 1842 in more than 40 years
PA
Jaswant Singh Chail, the man who planned to kill Queen Elizabeth II at Windsor Castle with a crossbow, has been sentenced to nine years in custody with a further licence period of five years.
Chail has been sentenced to a hybrid order and will remain at Broadmoor high-security psychiatric hospital until he is capable of being transferred to prison.
Time spent in detention at the hospital will be taken off his prison sentence.
Mr Justice Hilliard convicted Chail of treason at the Old Bailey and said: "There are clear concerns about his mental state whatever his diagnoses at different times."
The self-styled 'assassin' was arrested on the grounds of Windsor Castle on Christmas Day 2021, two hours after scaling a perimeter fence using a nylon rope ladder.
Chail was carrying a powerful crossbow with the safety catch off, capable of firing bolts with "lethal" force.
Chail was carrying a powerful crossbow with the safety catch off, capable of firing bolts with "lethal" force.
PA
Confronted by police, the then 19-year-old told officers "I am here to kill the Queen".
Queen Elizabeth II was spending Christmas at Windsor Castle with members of her family, including the now King and Queen, when the incident took place.
Hours earlier, wearing dark clothes and a metal mask, the Star Wars fanatic sent a video on WhatsApp to family and friends, apologising for what he was about to do.
He called himself “Darth Chailus” apparently adopting the persona of a Star Wars villain.
Chail, of Sikh Indian heritage, said he was seeking revenge for the Amritsar massacre in 1919 when British troops opened fire on thousands of Indians which left up to 1,500 people dead.
In a journal, he wrote that if The Queen was “unobtainable”, he suggested Prince Charles, now King, would be a “suitable figurehead” for revenge.
Charged with Treason, making a threat to kill Her Late Majesty and having a loaded crossbow in a public place, the young man from Southampton was assessed at Broadmoor Hospital - which found he did not exhibit extremism.
He pleaded guilty to all charges.
During hearings at the Old Bailey, the court heard Chail had applied for the army, the Ministry of Defence police, the Royal Marines and the Royal Navy in a bid to get close to the Royal Family.
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It also heard he was encouraged and bolstered to do what he did by an artificial intelligence, virtual girlfriend who he had exchanged more than 5,000 sexual messages with.
Chail’s barrister, Nadia Chbat, said he apologised to the royal family and the King in a letter to the court where he “expressed distress and sadness about the impact of his actions”.
His treating psychiatrist, Dr Christian Brown, recommended a hospital order.
But Professor Nigel Blackwood, for the prosecution, said the attack was carefully planned and Chail was well aware it was wrong.
The 21-year-old becomes the first person to be sentenced under the Treason Act of 1842 in more than 40 years.
Marcus Sarjeant was apprehended in June 1981, after firing six blank shots at Queen Elizabeth II during the Trooping the Colour parade.
He was sentenced to five years in prison.