Police Mistake Prince Andrew for an Intruder at Buckingham Palace
There was a rollicking madcap case of mistaken identity in the gardens of Buckingham Palace this Wednesday as British police officers mistook Prince Andrew for an intruder.
The guard reports that no weapons were drawn during the confrontation, though the Sunday Express published the scintillating headline: "WORLD EXCLUSIVE: Prince Andrew held at gunpoint in Buckingham Palace terror." Perhaps recounting the script from a film of their imagining, they wrote that the Prince was told, "put your hands up and get on the ground."
According to the police statement, two officers approached Prince Andrew at 6 p.m. on Wednesday in order "to verify his identity." In the report, they mention, "the man was satisfactorily identified."
The Prince is a Duke and the Queen's second son. He has an apartment and an office in Buckingham Palace. It is his cherished homestead, his place of work, and the location of his birth.
"It's fair to say that to describe the Duke as unhappy and the two officers as highly embarrassed is the biggest understatement of the century," said a source.
The police were most likely on edge, as a man was arrested two days earlier inside the palace on suspicion of burglary.
Prince Andrew says he's "grateful" for the apology from the officers. The Duke said that the police certainly have a difficult job, keeping the palace gardens free from sneak-thieves and ne'er-do-wells. He was very understanding that sometimes they "get it wrong." Everyone is only human, thought Prince Andrew, even humans who try to arrest you in your home.