The Break in at Buckingham Palace
One of the most popular tourist destinations worldwide, not only in the UK, is Buckingham Palace. Since 1837, the palace has served as the official London residence of the monarchy of Great Britain and it is a magnet for global tourism. Although many of the palace's rooms and gardens are open to the public for excursions, one area—the Queen's Bedroom, where her Majesty frequently stayed-remains completely off-limits to visitors. Understandable as you don't want someone's dirty Uncle Harry doing like what SpongeBob and Patrick were doing that one banned episode of SpongeBob.
However there was one person (just one) that missed the memo! This is why it is strange to hear how an ordinary member of the public broke in to have a chat with the Queen herself in 1982.
Michael Fagan was an unemployed painter and decorator. He was married with children. His financial situation was common in the early 1980s. The Thatcher government's policies had led to higher unemployment and a depression had descended on working class British society. Michael Fagan couldn't see a way out. So he thought he ought to tell the Queen about the plight of working class Britain.
In early July 1982 Fagan entered the palace for the first time. He shimmied up a drain pipe and entered the Palace through an upstairs window. He eventually was spotted by a housemaid, who called the police. Fagan left and the police search found nothing.
At 7am on July 9th he entered again by the same route. Sensors detected his presence, but the police thought they were faulty and ignored them. He wandered about various corridors in the Royal Apartments until he found the Queen's bedchamber. She contacted security immediately. It took almost 10 minutes for security to arrive. Meanwhile the Queen sat alone with this intruder.
Eventually Fagan was arrested. Rather than charging him with trespass, he was sent for psychological evaluation. This took 3 months. But apart from this, he was not prosecuted. It was clear that Fagan admired the Queen and merely wanted to speak to her.