In a rather spine-chilling incident, a 21-year-old British dude named Jaswant Singh Chail, who broke into Windsor Castle with a loaded crossbow and a sinister plan to assassinate Queen Elizabeth II, just got slapped with a nine-year prison sentence. And here’s how it all went down.
Dark Intentions and Arrest
This surreal situation happened on Christmas Day in 2021 while the late Queen was hunkered down at the castle during the pandemic. So, Mr. Chail apparently decides it’s a good day to sneak into the castle with a crossbow.
He scales the walls of the castle using a nylon rope ladder, all dressed up in black and wearing a creepy metal mask. He then casually strolls up to a police officer and says, “I am here to kill the Queen.” Not your typical casual conversation starter, right? Predictably, he got arrested on the spot.
Guilty Plea and the Verdict
Fast forward to February, and Mr. Chail pleads guilty to three charges. These include stuff like treason and carrying an offensive weapon, and he does that in London’s Old Bailey court. The judge, Justice Hilliard, didn’t mess around. He gave Chail a nine-year prison sentence, plus an additional five years on an extended license. The judge didn’t mince words, saying, “The defendant harbored homicidal thoughts which he acted on before he became psychotic. His intention was not just to harm or alarm the sovereign – but to kill her.”
Hybrid Order: A Mental Health Twist
Now, here’s the kicker – Chail’s sentence falls under this “hybrid order” thing, which is governed by the Mental Health Act. So what does that mean? Well, Mr. Chail is going to serve his time at the super high-security Broadmoor psychiatric hospital. He’ll hang out there until the pros say he’s okay to transfer to a regular prison.
An Intriguing Motive
Now, you might wonder what could possibly motivate someone to pull off something like this. Apparently, Mr. Chail was a big-time “Star Wars” fan. He even went around telling about 20 people that he’s a “Sith” in a video after he sneaked into the castle. But that’s not all. The court also learned that his AI chatbot “girlfriend” had a lot to do with him trying to break into the castle.
Disturbing Diary Entries
Chail had this journal where he wrote some pretty disturbing stuff. He tried to send it to his sister. In the journal, he says he’s going after the prince if he can’t get to the Queen. And by “the prince,” he meant then-Prince Charles. He thought the Prince would do just fine for his twisted plan.
First UK Treason Conviction in Over 40 Years
Here’s the history-making part – Chail is now the first person in the UK to get convicted of treason in over 40 years. So, he decided to apologize to the royal family via a letter to the court. His letter basically said he’s really sorry and feels super sad about everything.
He also admitted he brought a lot of trouble to their doorstep, which he felt really embarrassed about. But at least no one got hurt in this bizarre episode
