Windsor Castle crossbow suspect appears in court under Treason Act

Jaswant Singh Chail appeared in court via video-link from Broadmoor high-security psychiatric hospital

A man charged under the Treason Act after allegedly entering the grounds of Windsor Castle with a loaded crossbow on Christmas Day has appeared in court.

Jaswant Singh Chail is said to have told a protection officer "I am here to kill the Queen" before he was arrested, Westminster Magistrates' Court heard.

Mr Chail, 20, is also charged with making threats to kill and possession of an offensive weapon.

He was remanded in custody to appear at the Old Bailey on 14 September.

The Queen had been staying at Windsor, rather than spending Christmas as usual on her Sandringham estate

Mr Chail, from Southampton, was allegedly spotted in the grounds of Windsor Castle at about 08:10 GMT on 25 December last year.

Prosecutor Kathryn Selby told the court he had been carrying a Supersonic X-Bow weapon which had the potential to cause "serious or fatal injuries".

She said the allegations were not being treated as a "terrorism offence" but had been dealt with by the Metropolitan Police's Counter Terrorism Command.

Mr Chail, who was unemployed at the time of the alleged offence but previously worked for Co-op supermarket, appeared in court via video-link from Broadmoor high-security psychiatric hospital in Berkshire.

The Queen was at Windsor Castle on Christmas Day when the incident happened

He has been charged with an offence under section 2 of the 1842 Treason Act, namely "discharging or aiming firearms, or throwing or using any offensive matter or weapon, with intent to injure or alarm her Majesty".

The Queen had been staying at Windsor Castle for Christmas, rather than spending it as usual on her Sandringham estate in Norfolk.

Her Majesty was due to be joined for lunch by the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall, as well as the Earl and Countess of Wessex.

Under the 1842 Treason Act, it is an offence to assault the Queen, or have a firearm or offensive weapon in her presence with intent to injure or alarm her or to cause a breach of peace.

In 1981, Marcus Sarjeant was jailed for five years under the section of the Treason Act after he fired blank shots at the Queen while she was riding down The Mall in London during the Trooping the Colour parade.

The last person to be convicted under the separate and more serious 1351 Treason Act was William Joyce, also known as Lord Haw-Haw, who collaborated with Germany during the Second World War.