Michael Fagan incident
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Michael Fagan (born 8 August 1948) is a British citizen who intruded into Queen Elizabeth II's bedroom in Buckingham Palace in 1982.


Early life

Michael Fagan was born in Clerkenwell,
London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
, on 8 August 1948, the son of Ivy and Michael Fagan, Sr. His father was a steel erector and a "champion" safe-breaker. He had two younger sisters, Marjorie and Elizabeth. In 1955, he attended Compton Street School in Clerkenwell (later St Peter & St Paul RC Primary School). In 1966, he left home at 18 to escape his father, who, Fagan says, was violent. He started working as a
painter and decorator A house painter and decorator is a tradesman responsible for the painting and decorating of buildings, and is also known as a decorator or house painter.''The Modern Painter and Decorator'' volume 1 1921 Caxton The purpose of painting is to imp ...
. In 1972, he married Christine, with whom he had four children (she left him the year of the break-ins, but later came back). At some point in the 1970s–1980s, Fagan was a member of a North London branch of the Workers Revolutionary Party.


Break-ins


First entry

In early July 1982, Fagan intruded into Buckingham Palace. Fagan stated he shimmied up a drainpipe and startled a housemaid, who called security. He disappeared before guards arrived, who then disbelieved the housemaid's report. Fagan said he then entered the palace through an unlocked window on the roof and wandered around for the next half-hour while eating cheese and crackers. Two alarms were tripped, but the police turned them off believing they were faulty. He viewed royal portraits and sat for some time on a throne. He also spoke of entering the post room. He drank a half bottle of white wine, became tired and left.


Second entry

At around 7:00 a.m. on 9 July 1982, Fagan scaled Buckingham Palace's perimeter wall, which was topped with revolving spikes and barbed wire, and climbed up a drainpipe. An alarm sensor detected his movements, but police thought the alarm was faulty and silenced it. Fagan wandered the corridors for several minutes before reaching the royal apartments. In an
anteroom A vestibule (also anteroom, antechamber, or foyer) is a small room leading into a larger space such as a lobby, entrance hall or passage, for the purpose of waiting, withholding the larger space view, reducing heat loss, providing storage space ...
, Fagan broke a glass ashtray, cutting his hand. He entered the bedroom of Queen Elizabeth II at about 7:15 am carrying a fragment of glass. The Queen woke when Fagan disturbed a curtain. Initial reports said he had sat on the edge of her bed, however Fagan said in a 2012 interview that the Queen left the room immediately to seek security. The Queen phoned the palace switchboard twice for police, but none arrived, so she used her bedside alarm bell; she also beckoned a housemaid in the corridor, who was quickly dispatched to seek urgent help. The duty
footman A footman is a male domestic worker employed mainly to wait at table or attend a coach or carriage. Etymology Originally in the 14th century a footman denoted a soldier or any pedestrian, later it indicated a foot servant. A running footman deli ...
, Paul Whybrew, who had been walking the Queen's dogs, arrived, followed by two policemen on palace duty, who removed Fagan. The incident had happened as the armed police officer outside the royal bedroom came off duty before his replacement arrived. A subsequent police report was critical of the competence of officers on duty, as well as a system of confused and divided command. The Home Secretary who held sole responsibility for the police,
William Whitelaw William Stephen Ian Whitelaw, 1st Viscount Whitelaw, (28 June 1918 – 1 July 1999) was a British Conservative Party politician who served in a wide number of Cabinet positions, most notably as Home Secretary from 1979 to 1983 and as ''de fac ...
, offered his resignation but it was refused by the prime minister,
Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. She was the first female British prime ...
.


Arrest

Since Fagan's actions were, at the time, a
civil Civil may refer to: *Civic virtue, or civility *Civil action, or lawsuit * Civil affairs *Civil and political rights *Civil disobedience *Civil engineering *Civil (journalism), a platform for independent journalism *Civilian, someone not a membe ...
wrong rather than a criminal offence, he was not charged with
trespassing Trespass is an area of tort law broadly divided into three groups: trespass to the person, trespass to chattels, and trespass to land. Trespass to the person historically involved six separate trespasses: threats, assault, battery, wounding, ...
in the Queen's bedroom. He was charged with theft of the wine, but the charges were dropped when he was committed for
psychiatric evaluation Psychological evaluation is a method to assess an individual's behavior, personality, cognitive abilities, and several other domains. A common reason for a psychological evaluation is to identify psychological factors that may be inhibiting a pers ...
. In late July, Fagan's mother said, "He thinks so much of the Queen. I can imagine him just wanting to simply talk and say hello and discuss his problems." He spent the next three months in a
psychiatric hospital Psychiatric hospitals, also known as mental health hospitals, behavioral health hospitals, are hospitals or wards specializing in the treatment of severe mental disorders, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, eating disorders, dissociat ...
before being released on 21 January 1983. It was not until 2007, when Buckingham Palace became a "designated site" for the purposes of section 128 of the
Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 The Serious Organized Crime and Police Act 2005 (c.15) (often abbreviated to SOCPA or SOCAP) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom aimed primarily at creating the Serious Organised Crime Agency. It also significantly extended and si ...
, that trespass at the palace became a criminal offence.


Later life

Two years after entering Buckingham Palace, Fagan attacked a policeman at a café in
Fishguard Fishguard ( cy, Abergwaun, meaning "Mouth of the River Gwaun") is a coastal town in Pembrokeshire, Wales, with a population of 3,419 in 2011; the community of Fishguard and Goodwick had a population of 5,407. Modern Fishguard consists of two p ...
,
Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...
, and was given a three-month suspended sentence. In 1983, Fagan recorded a
cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...
of the Sex Pistols song "
God Save the Queen "God Save the King" is the national and/or royal anthem of the United Kingdom, most of the Commonwealth realms, their territories, and the British Crown Dependencies. The author of the tune is unknown and it may originate in plainchant, bu ...
" with
punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...
band the Bollock Brothers. In 1997, he was imprisoned for four years after he, his wife and their 20-year-old son Arran were charged with conspiring to supply heroin. Fagan made an appearance in
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...
's '' The Antics Roadshow'', an hour-long 2011 TV documentary directed by the artist
Banksy Banksy is a pseudonymous England-based street artist, political activist and film director whose real name and identity remain unconfirmed and the subject of speculation. Active since the 1990s, his satirical street art and subversive epigram ...
and
Jaimie D'Cruz Jaimie D'Cruz is a British documentary film producer and director. D'Cruz started as a music journalist, and founded the hip hop magazine ''TOUCH'', which he edited between 1990 and 1998. In 1998, he began to make TV documentaries for the Briti ...
charting the history of people behaving oddly in public. After the death of the Queen on 8 September 2022, Fagan told reporters that he had lit a candle in her memory at a local church.


In fiction

The intrusion was adapted in 2012 for an episode of
Sky Arts Sky Arts (originally launched as Artsworld) is a British free-to-air television channel offering 24 hours a day of programmes dedicated to highbrow arts, including theatrical performances, movies, documentaries and music (such as opera perfor ...
' ''
Playhouse Presents ''Playhouse Presents'' is an anthology series of self-contained TV plays, made by British broadcaster Sky Arts. The series started airing on 12 April 2012, on Sky Arts 1. Each episode is written by a different writer and stars a different cast. ...
'' series entitled " Walking the Dogs", a one-off British comedy drama featuring Emma Thompson as the Queen and
Eddie Marsan Edward Maurice Charles Marsan (born 9 June 1968) is an English actor. He won the London Film Critics Circle Award and the National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actor for the film '' Happy-Go-Lucky'' (2008). He has feature ...
as the intruder. In 2020,
Tom Brooke Thomas Brooke (born 1978) is an English actor. He is best known for playing the roles of Thick Kevin in '' The Boat That Rocked'' (2009), Bill Wiggins and Andy Apsted in the BBC One television series ''Sherlock'' and ''Bodyguard'' respectivel ...
played Fagan in the fifth episode of
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of ''
The Crown The Crown is the state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, overseas territories, provinces, or states). Legally ill-defined, the term has different ...
''. The intrusion also inspired
Trinidadian Trinidadians and Tobagonians, colloquially known as Trinis or Trinbagonians, are the people who are identified with the country of Trinidad and Tobago. The country is home to people of many different national, ethnic and religious origins. As a ...
calypso singer
Mighty Sparrow Slinger Francisco ORTT CM OBE (born July 9, 1935), better known as Mighty Sparrow, is a Trinidadian calypso vocalist, songwriter, and guitarist. Known as the "Calypso King of the World", he is one of the best-known and most successful caly ...
to write his ironic song "Phillip My Dear", very loosely based on the event.


See also

*
The boy Jones Edward "the boy" Jones (1824 – 26 December 1893) was a Briton who became notorious for breaking into Buckingham Palace multiple times between 1838 and 1841. Biography Early life Edward Jones was the son of a tailor in Westminster. Arrests In ...
, serial intruder to Buckingham Palace in the 1800s * The BFG, 1983 children's novel in which the protagonist Sophie intrudes into the Queen's bedroom


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fagan, Michael 1948 births 1982 in London 1980s crimes in London 1980s in the City of Westminster 20th-century English criminals Buckingham Palace Criminals from London English male criminals July 1982 events in the United Kingdom Living people People from Clerkenwell Workers Revolutionary Party (UK) members