Windsor Castle crossbow intruder apologises to the King

Jaswant Singh Chail was pictured after his arrest on Christmas Day 2021

A man who broke into Windsor Castle armed with a crossbow, planning to kill the Queen, has apologised to the Royal Family.

Jaswant Singh Chail, 21, was arrested on Christmas Day 2021.

He admitted a charge under the Treason Act, making threats to kill and possessing an offensive weapon.

He apologised to the royals and the King for taking "such horrific and worrying times to their front door", the Old Bailey heard.

A judge is deciding whether the former supermarket worker, from North Baddesley, Hampshire, is jailed, given a hospital order, or should face a "hybrid" order.

Chail's barrister Nadia Chbat told the court: "He has expressed distress and sadness about the impact his actions had on the Royal Family, particularly while Her Majesty was in her latter years.

"He has expressed relief no-one was actually hurt. It is important to him there was a surrender."

Chail's crossbow was found to be comparable to a powerful air rifle, with the potential to cause fatal injury

She said that before his mental health declined, Chail was a kind, gentle and sometimes funny person, according to his family and friends.

Ms Chbat said the break-in "utterly shocked and devastated this family unit and the defendant has sincere regret for how this has impacted on his family".

"And that deep regret will be with him for the rest of his life because of the severity of the offending that took place."

Prosecutor Alison Morgan KC said Chail's crimes were so serious they should attract the highest possible sentence.

She said: "This is not simply somebody carrying a crossbow - it was loaded and ready to be fired."

The maximum sentence for treason is seven years in prison, but the prosecutor said had Chail raised his weapon at his target, he could have been charged with the more serious offence of high treason, which carries a life sentence.

Mr Justice Hilliard said: "It might be said that if it's a prime minister, any other significant figure or politician, it is top of the range."

The Queen had been staying at Windsor at the time due to the pandemic

Chail appeared in court by video link from the high-security psychiatric hospital Broadmoor.

His sentencing hearing previously heard how he broke into the grounds while the late monarch was staying at the castle during the pandemic.

The trial heard he had exchanged 5,000 sexually charged messages with an artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot before arriving at Windsor Castle.

He also had described himself as a "Sith" and "Darth Jones" in reference to characters from the Star Wars franchise.