A man carrying a knife has been arrested, accused of tossing shotgun cartridges onto the grounds of England's Buckingham Palace only days before the planned coronation of King Charles III.
London's Metropolitan Police said in a release on Tuesday that the unnamed man had been arrested "on suspicion of possession of an offensive weapon" after he was found to be carrying a knife and "a suspicious bag" at around 7 p.m. local time.
Police said that the man "threw a number of items," including the shotgun cartridges, onto palace grounds before he was "quickly detained" by officers. Specialists conducted a controlled explosion "as a precaution."
Neither Charles, who is set to be crowned on Saturday, nor Queen Camilla were on palace grounds at the time of the arrest, according to the BBC.
"Officers worked immediately to detain the man and he has been taken into police custody," Chief Superintendent Joseph McDonald said in a statement.
"There have been no reports of any shots fired, or any injuries to officers or members of the public," McDonald added. "Officers remain at the scene and further enquiries are ongoing."
Police said that they were "not treating the matter as terror-related." The BBC reported that it was considered "an isolated mental health incident."
Buckingham Palace grounds were cordoned off following the incident. No further details about the disturbance or the identify of the suspect were publicly available at the time of publication.
Newsweek has reached out via email to the press office of Buckingham Palace for comment.
Massive crowds are expected during the coronation on Saturday. In preparation, U.K. police and security services are mounting a large and costly safety operation called "Operation Golden Orb," according to The Independent.
Armed guards and rooftop snipers will reportedly be in place to counter risks posed by potential terrorism, "criminal opportunists" and possibly violent protesters.
Simon Morgan, former royal protection officer and current director of operations for security firm Trojan Consultancy, told The Independent that officers would also be on the lookout for possible stalkers and others "fixated" on the royal family.
"It's a massive policing operation," Morgan said. "You're protecting the individuals but also the office and what it stands for, and what that in turn looks like for His Majesty's government and how that is seen across the globe.
"It's high stakes—if anything goes wrong, it's immediately broadcast and it reflects on Britain's standing in the world," he added.
Charles inherited the throne in September following the death of his mother Queen Elizabeth II, who was coronated in 1953.
He will be the U.K.'s first king to be crowned alongside a queen consort since his grandparents King George VI and Queen Elizabeth in May 1937.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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Aila Slisco is a Newsweek night reporter based in New York. Her focus is on reporting national politics, where she ... Read more
