Man said 'I am here to kill the Queen' as he 'carried crossbow' at Windsor Castle, court hears

A former supermarket worker has appeared in court under the Treason Act after allegedly carrying a loaded crossbow into Windsor Castle.

Jaswant Singh Chail, 20, was held on Christmas Day last year close to the Queen's private residence, with a line of sight to her apartments which she was residing in at the time. He allegedly wore a hood and mask while brandishing a loaded crossbow with the safety catch off.

Chail, from Southampton, Hampshire, is said to have told a protection officer: "I am here to kill the Queen". He was quickly handcuffed and arrested, Westminster magistrates' Court heard.

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Appearing by videolink from Broadmoor high-security psychiatric hospital in Berkshire on Wednesday, he face charges with an offence under Section 2 of the Treason Act - possession of an offensive weapon and making threats to kill. The most severe charge under the Treason Act states that "on December 25 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 the Second, or to alarm her Majesty”.

A separate charge alleges that 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 also stated that he had "an offensive weapon, namely a loaded crossbow" in a public space.

He was not asked to enter pleas to any of the charges and Chief Magistrate Paul Goldspring remanded him in custody ahead of his next appearance which will be at the Old Bailey on September 14. The court also heard how Chail