Inside the royal family’s biggest security scandals

Even with the world’s most elite security teams, the British royal family has faced some hair-raising moments.

From palace break-ins to assassination plots, here are four times royal safety was dramatically put to the test.

Charles and Diana Escaped an IRA Bomb Plot

Just a year later, in 1983, then-Prince Charles and Princess Diana narrowly avoided an assassination attempt by the Irish Republican Army. The plot targeted them at a Duran Duran concert at London’s Dominion Theater.

 Sean O’Callaghan, tasked with planting the bomb, was secretly an Irish police informer. Despite notifying his handlers, he was still sent to London with cash, fake documents, and plans for explosives.

Scotland Yard leaked news that an IRA “Jackal” was in town, allowing O’Callaghan to back off. Duran Duran’s drummer Roger Taylor later admitted it was “the scariest moment” of his life.

Princess Diana Eluded Her Own Security

Not all royal security scares came from outside threats. Diana herself often caused alarm by evading her protection team. In one instance at the Austrian ski resort of Lech, she leapt off a first-floor balcony just to escape her bodyguards.

According to The Secret Royals, “Diana was the worst… even early in her marriage, she became rather good at giving her own security the slip.” Her disappearing acts often left aides scrambling, worried for her safety, while she enjoyed a little freedom in dark sunglasses and stylish anonymity.

A Drunken Man Broke Into Queen Elizabeth’s Bedroom

In 1982, Michael Fagan stunned Britain when he scaled Buckingham Palace’s drainpipe and entered Queen Elizabeth II’s bedroom while she slept. The drunk laborer smashed an ashtray and carried a shard of glass into the room. 

Astonishingly, the Queen’s alarm failed, and her guards were nowhere in sight. Remaining calm, she offered Fagan a cigarette until help arrived. A maid eventually stumbled upon the scene and exclaimed, “Bloody hell, ma’am, what’s he doing here?” Though the Queen handled it with composure, she later criticized her security team for the shocking lapse.

The SAS Accidentally Set Diana’s Hair on Fire

Even royal training exercises weren’t without mishaps. During a mock kidnap-and-rescue mission run by Britain’s elite SAS, Princess Diana excitedly drove a Range Rover into the simulated combat zone.

 But when flash bangs exploded, a pellet flew through her open window and ignited her hair. An officer quickly patted it out before serious damage was done. Prince Charles and his entourage reportedly laughed, while Diana laughed it off too, though it was a close call no one forgot.