What Really Happened When a Man Broke Into Queen Elizabeth's Bedroom: "What Do I Do?"

Queen Elizabeth II's bedroom at Buckingham Palace was famously breached by an intruder in 1982. He climbed the 20-foot wall, which was impressive in itself considering he was drunk. Unnoticed, he hauled himself up a drainpipe and emerged onto a bedroom balcony. The Royal Family website claims that the palace has more than 200 bedrooms and Michael Fagan chose the right one that night. The Queen was gazing up at him when he pulled back the curtains. He later recounted, "Then she speaks and it's like the finest glass you can imagine breaking, 'What are you doing here?!'"

In 2020, Fagan revealed what transpired between the Queen and him in an exclusive with The Independent. He shared, "I was more scared than I'd ever been in my life...It was a double bed but a single room, definitely – she was sleeping in there on her own." He suppressed a laugh before adding, "Her nightie was one of those Liberty prints and it was down to her knees." He refuted rumors that the Queen spoke with him for a long time before security arrived. "Nah! She went past me and ran out of the room; her little bare feet running across the floor."

Fagan also recalled receiving his missing sandals since he was barefoot during the break-in. "I got my sandals returned to me two years later by the security guard. 'These are Michael's sandals, we found them on the roof,' they said." The Irishman further shared that the Queen summoned an unarmed footman who kept watch over him until the police arrived. "The footman came and said, 'Cor, f-cking hell mate, you look like you need a drink'. His name was [Paul] Whybrew, which is a funny name for someone offering you a drink, innit? He took me to the Queen's pantry, across the landing, where I presume she cooks her baked beans and toast and whatever – and takes a bottle of Famous Grouse from the shelf and pours me a glass of whisky."

Fagan continued, "I found rooms saying 'Diana's room,' 'Charles's room'...they all had names on them. But I couldn't find a door which said 'WC'. All I found were some bins with 'corgi food' written on them. I was breaking my neck to go to the toilet. What do I do? Pee on the carpet? So, I had to pee on the corgi food. I got into Charles's room and took the wine off the shelf and drank it. It was cheap Californian," Town and Country magazine reported. 

Fagan was committed to Park Lane Secure Mental Institution and Brixton Prison. He revealed he lived with 'no regrets.' "It's brought me adversity, but I can laugh about it and that's the main thing. I wouldn't do it again. I think security is tightened up now." Reflecting on what had inspired him to do so, he stated, "I don't know why I did it, something just got into my head." Fagan broke into Buckingham Palace twice. The first time he went undetected. He disclosed, "I went back because I thought, 'That's naughty, that's naughty that I can walk round there.'"