Britain's Queen Elizabeth II faced a potential assassination threat 40 years ago, ahead of a trip to the United States, according to newly released documents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
A cache of 103 pages were posted to the FBI's online records site, The Vault, on Tuesday. The files cover preparations for several trips the late Queen made to the US, including an official tour of the West Coast with her husband, Prince Philip, in 1983.
One document appears to detail a tip gathered around a month before that visit from San Francisco police regarding a phone call from "a man who claimed that his daughter had been killed in Northern Ireland by a rubber bullet."
It continues: "This man additionally claimed that he was going to attempt to harm Queen Elizabeth and would do this either by dropping some object off the Golden Gate Bridge onto the Royal Yacht Britannia when it sails underneath, or would attempt to kill Queen Elizabeth when she visited Yosemite National Park."
The same document notes that "it is the intention of the Secret Service to close the walkways on the Golden Gate Bridge when the yacht nears." There's no mention of any precautions that may have been taken at the national park nor do the files reveal whether any arrests were made.
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The files illustrate the FBI's hypervigilance at possible threats to the visiting British monarch, collaboration with the US Secret Service and concerns about the Irish Republican Army (IRA) and its sympathizers during royal visits.
The Queen's cousin, Louis Mountbatten, was assassinated by the Provisional IRA in 1979, using a bomb planted in his fishing boat. Three others died in the same explosion, including two children. Many of the Queen's trips to the US took place amid the Troubles in Northern Ireland and the documents reveal the FBI was closely monitoring as it prepared for royal visits over the years.
Ahead of a private visit to Kentucky in 1989, one document notes that while the FBI was unaware of any specific threats to the Queen, "the possibility of threats against the British monarchy is everpresent from the Irish Republican Army (IRA)."
Elsewhere in the files, a document preparing for the Queen's state visit in 1991 outlines concern about Irish groups organizing protests at several scheduled engagements, including a baseball game the monarch was due to attend and a White House event. Citing information printed in a Philadelphia Irish newspaper titled Irish Edition, the page read: "The article stated anti-British feelings are running high as a result of well publicized injustices inflicted on the Birmingham Six by the corrupt English judicial system and the recent rash of brutal murders of unarmed Irish nationalists in the six counties by loyalist death squads."
It added: "Though the article contained no threats against the President or the Queen, the statements could be viewed as being inflammatory. The article stated that an Irish group had reserved a large block of grand stand tickets."
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Another document in the file, dated July 1976, mentioned an occasion when the Queen traveled back across the Atlantic to help mark America's bicentennial celebrations, with stops including Philadelphia, Washington and New York.
During that trip, the FBI documents disclose, a summons was issued to a pilot for flying a small two-seater plane over Battery Park, carrying a sign that read "England, Get out of Ireland."
📖 Bonus read: All the Queen's Presidents. During Elizabeth II's impressive 70-year reign, there were 14 US Presidents. She met with all of them except for Lyndon B. Johnson. Head here to look back through their meetings over the decades.
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Prince Harry's legal challenge about his UK security arrangements is not over. |
This week, the Duke of Sussex was dealt a blow when a UK judge ruled against his request to find out why he couldn't privately pay for police protection when visiting the country. Mr. Justice Chamberlain on Tuesday denied a legal bid by Prince Harry to review the decision.
In written submissions to the High Court, the UK's Home Office argued that the Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures (RAVEC) "considered that it was not appropriate to support an outcome whereby wealthy individuals could 'buy' Protective Security from specialist police officers (potentially including armed officers), in circumstances where RAVEC has determined that the public interest does not warrant that individual receiving such Protective Security on a publicly-funded basis."
The legal challenge was one of several ongoing lawsuits that Prince Harry is undertaking in the UK. A separate legal effort to review the original decision to strip him of taxpayer-funded protection is still in progress. He also has several lawsuits against newspaper publishers. Read more.
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The Princess of Wales delighted crowds by making a surprise appearance at the 2023 RHS Chelsea Flower Show in London on Monday. She joined students from 10 schools involved in the Royal Horticultural Society's Campaign for School Gardening. It marked the first time in the event's 110-year history that a children's picnic had taken place and was introduced to help bring gardening and nature into the lives of more children.
Kate met the schoolkids for the picnic by the bandstand, then walked around some of the gardens and participated in activities including a bug hunt, designing a homegrown meal and learning about how the outdoors can strengthen wellbeing. The royals have a long history of supporting the annual flower show but the princess' appearance hadn't been announced in advance.
In listing the members of the royal family that were set to attend the show at the Royal Hospital Chelsea, the palace had only mentioned King Charles and Queen Camilla, the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester and Prince and Princess Michael of Kent.
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Duchess 'deeply saddened' after woman hit by police escort dies. |
Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh has expressed her "deepest condolences and sympathies" to the family of an 81-year-old woman who died after being hit by the royal's police escort on May 10. "The Duchess of Edinburgh is deeply saddened to hear that Helen Holland has passed away. Her Royal Highness's deepest condolences and sympathies go to all of Ms Holland's family," a Buckingham Palace spokesperson told CNN on Wednesday.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct confirmed the death to CNN on Wednesday. "Helen Holland, 81, was taken to hospital following the collision with a police motorcycle that was on escort duties on West Cromwell Road around 3.21 pm that afternoon. Our thoughts are with her family and friends following their loss," the police watchdog said.
"We began an independent investigation after we were informed by the force of the incident that night. Our investigation is at an early stage. We also issued a witness appeal last week and would still like to hear from anyone who saw or recorded any part of this incident who is yet to speak to us," it added.
(From CNN's Eve Brennan in London)
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UK government reveals cost of Queen Elizabeth II's state funeral. |
United Kingdom government departments spent more than $200 million (£161.7 million) on Queen Elizabeth II's state funeral and related events, the Treasury announced in a statement last week. The late Queen — Britain's longest-reigning monarch, whose rule spanned seven decades — died at Balmoral in September. You'll all remember that the UK subsequently entered an official mourning period, which began the day after the Queen's death and lasted until seven days after her funeral on September 19.
"The Government's priorities were that these events ran smoothly and with the appropriate level of dignity, while at all times ensuring the safety and security of the public," the Treasury said.
According to the figures released by the Treasury, the Home Office spent the most of any department for the funeral events, at $97.65 million (£73.68 million). The costs also "included fully refunding the Scottish Government, Welsh Government and Northern Ireland Office for their respective costs."
(From CNN's Sammy Mncwabe) |
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