Thursday, March 28, 2024

Top 5 greatest assassination attempts on Queen Elizabeth II’s life

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Queen Elizabeth II lived a very long life, reigning for 70 years and died aged 96. As a Monarch who has lived and reigned that long, she wasn’t immune to threats and attempts to claim her life. But she survived them all and died due to natural causes.

Whilst still mourning the Queen, we’ve compiled top assassination attempts on her life in her 70 years of rule:

 

1. Australian Tour Attempt

During one of Queen Elizabeth II’s tours with her husband in Australia, she faced a potential threat to her life. The incident occurred on April 29, 1970, while she was travelling on a train. Unknown to them, a log of wood had been placed on the rail less than an hour before she was transported through the train. At the time, there had been regularly checks on the rail all through the travelling routes up to 1 hour before the stipulated time of her travel. But luckily for her, the driver sported the log and was able to alt the train just in time. But news about the incident wasn’t made public until 2009; this was swept under the carpet for so long to protect the royal family.

 

2. Trooping the colour attempt

Another near-death experience that Queen Elizabeth II faced was in 1981 during the yearly Trooping the colour event. This festive event is where thousands of soldiers, musicians and horses parade the streets and other side attractions. But on that particular event on June 13, 1981, a teenager shot at the Queen up to six times amid the large crowd.

But it was noted that the Queen was skilful with riding horses and somehow survived the incident without getting shot. The shooter was apprehended by the police and jailed for five years.

3. New Zealand visit attempt

In 1981 again, Queen Elizabeth II survived another assassination attempt by a 17-year-old teenager. The incident happened on her visit to New Zealand with Prince Philip. The teenager shot at the Queen with a rifle from an empty toilet in a building as she got out of her Rolls-Royce.

Yet again, the shooter failed to hit the target and missed; regardless, the rifle couldn’t have it from his long-range position. The Kiwi police had claimed the sound was a firecracker. The suspect was eventually caught and served three years in a psychiatric facility.

 

4. Queen’s room attempt

This incident was definitely a close call as the assassin had broken into the Queen’s room twice in the same month. The killer, who was a man, broke into the Queen’s room with a broken piece of glass. But the Queen saw him just in time and was able to call for help. But after he was caught and interviewed, he claimed he had broken into her room to slash his wrists at her presence and didn’t know how he had gotten there.

 

5. ISIS attempt

In 2014, ISIS terrorists deliberately attempted to terminate Queen Elizabeth II’s life, but the British security forces accompanying the Queen were sharp enough to stop the shot. The attempt was made as the country celebrated the 96-year remembrance of the end of the Second World War. The suspected terrorists were four in number and tried to assassinate the Queen with a foiled knife before the British forces intercepted them. The assailants were also caught with firearms in their possession.

It’s for a fact that heading such a popular and significant title has made her a target to many dangerous persons seeking to cut her life short, but she has survived so many of these attempts. These are just some of the shots that came into light, while so many others are yet to be revealed to this day. Follow our blog for more fun stories such as this.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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