Windsor Castle intruder 'carefully planned' attempt to kill the Queen

A man armed with a crossbow who arrived at Windsor Castle "to kill" the late Queen had "carefully planned his acts", a court has heard.

Jaswant Singh Chail, 21, was arrested on Christmas Day 2021.

He admitted a charge under the Treason Act and to making threats to kill and possessing an offensive weapon.

A sentencing hearing heard Chail was "well aware" of his actions and later apologised. A judge is deciding whether he is jailed or given a hospital order.

The former supermarket worker, from North Baddesley, Hampshire, entered the grounds while Queen Elizabeth II was living there due to the pandemic.

Giving evidence for the prosecution, psychiatrist Dr Nigel Blackwood told the Old Bailey Chail's actions had been "carefully planned and executed".

"For me there had not been a fundamental breach with reality," Mr Blackwood said.

In a video posted on Snapchat minutes before he entered the grounds, Chail said he was sorry for what he would do as he spoke about attempting to kill the Queen.

In the same video, he said his actions were "a revenge" for those who had died in the 1919 Jallianwala Bagh massacre, when British troops opened fire on thousands of people who had gathered in the city of Amritsar in India.

Chail - who is from a Sikh family - had a history of trauma and endured psychotic episodes and depression, the court previously heard.

Mr Blackwood said Chail sought to apologise as he was "well aware of the wrong".

"If you are in the grip of very powerful psychosis you don't seek to apologise," Mr Blackwood added.

He also said Chail was "well aware" of the "fantasy space" provided by his Artificial Intelligence (AI) "girlfriend" called Sarai, with which he exchanged 5,000 sexually-charged messages.

When challenged by defence counsel Nadia Chbat over the fact that Chail believed he was a character akin to those featured in the Star Wars films, Mr Blackwood said he was not compelled by the adoption of this fantasy figure that Chail was delusional.

Mr Justice Hilliard is expected to determine whether Chail should be handed a prison sentence or detained under the Mental Health Act.

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