Two masked thieves broke into the grounds at Windsor Castle, one of the homes of King Charles III, and made off with two vehicles from a barn, police have confirmed.
The incident took place more than a month ago, on Oct. 13, but it wasn’t reported until Monday when the British tabloids got wind of the story. Thames Valley Police confirmed the burglary to CNN on Monday.
“Offenders entered a farm building and made off with a black Izuzu pickup and a red quad bike. They then made off towards the Old Windsor/Datchet area,” Thames Valley Police said in an emailed statement to Reuters, confirming that the incident took place just before midnight local time.
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“No arrests have been made at this stage and an investigation is ongoing.”
According to reports, King Charles and his wife Camilla were not at the estate at the time of the theft, but it’s believed Prince William, Kate Middleton and their three children were home at Adelaide Cottage, which is part of the estate and about a five-minute drive from where the incident occurred.
The burglary is a significant breach of security at the Royal Family’s Crown estate. It’s reported the intruders scaled a six-foot fence at Shaw Farm, an active farm on the grounds, before crashing the stolen truck through a farm gate during their getaway.
In keeping with royal protocol of not commenting on security issues, both Buckingham Palace and Kensington Palace have declined to issue a statement.
It’s not the only time in recent years there has been a security breach at Windsor. On Christmas Day in 2021 an intruder was arrested on the grounds.
Jaswant Singh Chail, who had been armed with a crossbow and said he wanted to kill Queen Elizabeth, was later jailed for nine years.
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