King Charles Faces Yet Another Security Breach as Windsor Castle Estate is Burglarized by Masked Intruders

The incident occurred not far from Prince William and Princess Kate's home.

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Windsor Castle exterior shot on a cloudy day
(Image credit: Getty Images)

A Windsor Castle property has been the target of a recent burglary—and the incident happened just minutes from where Prince William, Princess Kate and their children slept at their Windsor home.

According to the Thames Valley Police, via the BBC, the crime took place on Oct. 13 but was just reported on Sunday, Nov. 13. "Offenders entered a farm building and made off with a black Isuzu pick-up and a red quad bike. They then made off towards the Old Windsor/Datchet area," a police statement read.

The masked burglars climbed a six-foot-tall fence at Shaw Farm, which is on the Windsor Castle estate, and got away "by breaking through a gate with a stolen vehicle," per the BBC.

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Alarmingly, the incident happened just five minutes away from Adelaide Cottage, where Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis were asleep with their parents. According to the Sun, "the family are regularly seen using the wrecked gate — the nearest exit to their home."

Windsor Castle exterior with two police officers walking through the park in front

A farm on the Windsor Castle property was robbed in October.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

A source told the outlet that the robbers "would have to have known the vehicles were stored there before they broke in and known when was the best time to get and escape without being caught," adding, "they must have been watching Windsor Castle for a while."

The King and Queen were not in residence at the castle when the incident took place.

The Sun's source continued, “There are alarms at Windsor Castle but the first time anyone knew there was a break-in was when they crashed through the security barrier at Shaw Farm Gate exit."

According to police, no arrests have been made in conjunction with the burglary just yet.

This is the second time this year there's been a security breach on Windsor Castle property. In February, an unarmed man was found in the gardens outside the King’s Windsor Castle apartments.

And in 2022, a man dressed as a priest spent the night on castle property while on Christmas Day 2021, a crossbow-wielding intruder climbed a fence while threatening to kill Queen Elizabeth.

Kristin Contino
Kristin Contino
Senior Royal and Celebrity Editor

Kristin Contino is Marie Claire's Senior Royal and Celebrity editor. She's been covering royalty since 2018—including major moments such as the Platinum Jubilee, Queen Elizabeth II’s death and King Charles III's coronation—and places a particular focus on the British Royal Family's style and what it means.

Prior to working at Marie Claire, she wrote about celebrity and royal fashion at Page Six Style and covered royalty from around the world as chief reporter at Royal Central. Kristin has provided expert commentary for outlets including the BBC, Sky News, US Weekly, the Today Show and many others.

Kristin is also the published author of two novels, “The Legacy of Us” and “A House Full of Windsor.” She's passionate about travel, history, horses, and learning everything she can about her favorite city in the world, London.