Michael Fagan was a painter and decorator from Clerkenwell, London, born 8th August 1948. He was charged with burglary after quaffing a bottle of expensive red wine in the palace but was acquitted after a trial at the Old Bailey in September 1982. But The Crown did take significant creative license. Fagan didn't meet the Queen until the second break-in at Buckingham Palace. Maybe it was due a redec?" Buckingham Palace intruder Michael Fagan, radio interview 1993. (He was acquitted.) Mike died peacefully in the early morning hours of Sept. 5, 2015, at home surrounded by his loving and devoted family. It was one of the worst royal security blunders in modern history, which led the then-home secretary Willie Whitelaw to offer the Queen his resignation. Michael Fagan Obituary (2015) - Portland, OR - The Oregonian - Legacy.com After the two palace break-ins, Michael Fagan was only charged with the theft of wine. What do I do? [1] Fagan wandered the corridors for several minutes before reaching the royal apartments. The Crown: Who was Michael Fagan and how did he break into Buckingham Palace. The Queen thought Buckingham Palace prowler Michael Fagan was a 'drunk member of staff', her former protection officer has revealed. [1] He stated that he shimmied up a drainpipe and startled a housemaid, who called security. The Crown's Michael Fagan admitted he was 'high on - Express Instead, she has shallow greetings with well-dressed, smiling crowds, as depicted in the start of "Fagan.". Ad Choices. Fagan compared the nature of his visit to Goldilocks and the Three Bears, describing how he sat on multiple thrones in order to find the softest perch. Among the men and women standing in line in the dole queue was Fagan, a painter and decorator who was destined to cause one of the worst royal security breaches in modern memory, when he broke into Buckingham Palace and entered the Queen's bedroom, carrying a piece of broken glass. I bet the rest of it is a fiction as well. I found the Michael Fagan incident heartbreaking - Reddit The incident had happened as the armed police officer outside the royal bedroom came off duty before his replacement arrived. For example, "the police sergeant who is in the corridor outside at night had gone off duty at about 6 A.M., when members of the domestic staff had come on duty.". "I went back because I thought 'that's naughty, that's naughty that I can walk round there'." Buckingham Palace is no stranger to visitors, Your Privacy Choices: Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads. In 1982, Michael Fagan was an unemployed painter and decorator. In court, Fagan even claimed that he had "done the Queen a favour" by exposing the lax security measures (as reported by The Times on September 24th 1982). According to a Scotland Yard investigation, Fagan says he found a glass ashtray in an anteroom and broke it, intending to slit his wrists in front of the Queen. Fagan wasn't impressed by what he saw. [4], A subsequent police report was critical of the competence of officers on duty, as well as a system of confused and divided command. "It was just a moment of madness. Stephanie Linning For Mailonline, The Crown poses a 'major risk' to Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall's popularity by depicting Princess Diana being 'mocked' within the royal family 'like Meghan Markle', Finding Freedom author claims, Prince Harry said he would 'insist' on The Crown ending before it reaches his time and is 'disloyal and rude' for taking money from Netflix which has 'ridiculed' his family, royal biographer claims. Mike Fagan adjusting to life after PBA Tour - Peoria Journal Star Wybrew said in a statement at the time, according to The Guardian. He was sent for treatment (as a patient rather than criminal) at a secure psychiatric hospital in Liverpool on Tuesday 5th October 1982, according to newspaper reports the following day. William John Fagan Jr.; son, Brandon Michael Fagan; wife, Misty, and their two children, Patrick and Jacob; and countless colleagues, friend and students who . After consuming about half of the bottle, he told the court, he got tired of waiting and decided to leave. Marine businesses sue Army Corps, others for railroad bridge control Fagan claimed that his famous palace break-in on 9th July 1982 was in reality his second break-in, meaning he managed to sneak into Buckingham Palace not once, but twice within the space of almost exactly a month. Mike Fagan - Wikipedia "It was harder to get out than get in. Michael Fagan (born 8 August 1948) is a British citizen who intruded into Queen Elizabeth II's bedroom in Buckingham Palace in 1982. Story Behind The 'Palace Prowler' Michael Fagan From The Crown - Tyla The same Times article also detailed some previous breaches in security, including an alleged incident where an officer was "in bed with a maid when he should have been on duty outside the Queen's bedchamber," and how officers were reportedly found "paddling in the goldfish ponds". With a shard of the broken ashtray in hand, he entered the Queens bedroom, opened the curtains surrounding her bed, and sat down on the foot of the bed. Soon after, Fagan received a psychiatric evaluation, and spent three months in a psychiatric hospital. I was fortunate enough to get in, and couldn't say no." Fagan was a three-time all-American for the Red Storm during his. What transpired between the Queen and Fagan has since gone down in history as one of the most dramatic royal security breaches on record. Lauren Hubbard is a freelance writer and Town & Country contributor who covers beauty, shopping, entertainment, travel, home decor, wine, and cocktails. Contemporary newspaper reports do seem to suggest, however, that Fagan got very close to the Queen's bed (even if he didn't sit on it). .css-lwn4i5{display:block;font-family:Neutra,Helvetica,Arial,Sans-serif;font-weight:bold;letter-spacing:-0.01rem;margin-bottom:0;margin-top:0;text-align:center;-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;}@media (any-hover: hover){.css-lwn4i5:hover{color:link-hover;}}@media(max-width: 48rem){.css-lwn4i5{font-size:1.375rem;line-height:1.1;}}@media(min-width: 40.625rem){.css-lwn4i5{font-size:1.375rem;line-height:1.1;}}@media(min-width: 48rem){.css-lwn4i5{font-size:1.375rem;line-height:1.1;}}@media(min-width: 64rem){.css-lwn4i5{font-size:1.375rem;line-height:1.1;}}35 Celebrity Relationships That Upset Fans, Celebrities You Didn't Know Had Famous Moms, 30 Celebrity Feuds That Were Never Resolved, Celebrity Couples from 50 Years You Forgot About, We Ranked Every Single Adam Sandler Movie, 34 'Bridgerton' Fun Facts to Fuel Your Obsession, Where Youve Seen the Cast of Bridgerton Before, A Look Back at Nearly Four Decades of 'Jeopardy! The duty footman, Paul Whybrew, who had been walking the Queen's dogs, finally appeared, followed by two policemen, who removed Fagan. For example, the article titled 'The man who created a security nightmare' (The Times, September 24th 1982), referenced how Fagan "stepped towards the sleeping monarch," mentioning "his appearance by her bed," and how he "talked to the Queen for some minutes". I eventually found a door and walked out into the back gardens, climbed over the wall and walked down the Mall, looking back and thinking 'ooh'. He served four years in prison. The Crown: The True Story of Michael Fagan Breaking into Queen's - ELLE On July 9, 1982, at just around 7 a.m., Michael Fagan shimmied up a Buckingham Palace drainpipe all the way to a flat roof that was only a few feet away from the palaces main building. He was committed to a mental hospital at sentencing, but by the following January a medical tribunal at the hospital determined that he no longer needed to be detained, according to the New York Times. "People who have done marvelous things get to kneel in front of her to be honored," Fagan said, "but I actually sat on her bed and almost got to talk to her.". Fagan claimed he navigated by "[following] the pictures" to the right room in 1982, but then during a 1993 BBC radio interview, edited himself: "I don't know how the hell I found her.". Keep in mind that almost the entire episode is a fictional account of Fagan's life and mindset. [5] The duty footman, Paul Whybrew, who had been walking the Queen's dogs, arrived, followed by two policemen on palace duty, who removed Fagan. Startled, Carter ran to fetch help, but by the time she returned, Fagan had moved on to another part of the palace and security believed that she had imagined the incident. [2], The Queen woke when Fagan disturbed a curtain. Shortly, footman Paul Wybrew was summoned, who then escorted Fagan across the corridor the the Queen's pantry. I was having a laugh to myself because there was one right next to it, so I tried another," he told The Independent. The Crown also shows Mr Fagan breaking a valuable vase during his escapades, something which he says was made up. Queen thought Michael Fagan was 'drunk staff member' | UK News - Metro Michael D. Pitman: Column: Hamilton centenarian never shied from an In 2012, Emma Thompson starred as the Queen in an episode of Playhouse Presents, a series of one-off dramas, centered entirely around the break-in. .css-1fgik18{color:#323232;display:block;font-family:NewParis,NewParis-fallback,Georgia,Times,serif;font-weight:normal;margin-bottom:0.3125rem;margin-top:0;-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;-webkit-font-smoothing:auto;}@media (any-hover: hover){.css-1fgik18:hover{color:link-hover;}}@media(max-width: 48rem){.css-1fgik18{font-size:1.0625rem;line-height:1.2;}}@media(min-width: 40.625rem){.css-1fgik18{font-size:1.0625rem;line-height:1.2;}}@media(min-width: 64rem){.css-1fgik18{font-size:1.3125rem;line-height:1.2;}}The Crown Will Return for a 6th Season, The History Behind the Royal Title Prince of Wales, King Charles & Princess Anne Through the Years, Inside the Duke and Duchess of Windsor's Home, The Crown Is Filming Will & Kate's Love Story, The Crown Has Cast Young Prince William & Kate, Inside Charles and Camilla's Country Home, Helena Bonham Carter Says The Crown Should End. During the second break-in on July 9, 1982, Fagan entered a similar way and made his way towards the Queen's bedroom. He was later brought to trial for burglary relating to the first time he broke in. In another scene,Fagan breaks in again by smashing a window, before strolling through the palace and into the Queen's bedroom. "I walked straight in. She is believed to have said "What are you doing here?" Mike had been fighting pancreatic cancer since his diagnosis in February of this year. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site. In interviews, Fagan denied reports from 1982 claiming that he and the monarch had a 10-minute chat. An unemployed decorator struggling with mental illness, hes estranged from his wife, his children, and most of all, Thatcherism. I drank it because I was waiting for someone to come. And, the second time around, someone certainly did. Theyve just done it to have a pop at the Queen.'. He had a heart attack and had COVID-19 in 2020. Episode 5 of The Crown season 4, "Fagan" focuses on the July 1982 morning when 32-year-old Michael Fagan broke into Buckingham Palacespecifically, the queen's bedroomwhile she was in her . [1] Early life [ edit] Michael Fagan was born in Clerkenwell, London, on 8 August 1948, [2] the son of Ivy and Michael Fagan, Sr. [1] His father was a steel erector and a "champion" safe-breaker. She went past me and ran out of the room; her little bare feet running across the floor.". (This makes sense: Charles and Diana had just welcomed their first child, Prince William, weeks before.) He even suggests that the incident may have stemmed from putting too many magic mushrooms in his soup five months prior, saying, "I forgot you're only supposed to take a little handful. He consequently served four years in prison. In search of a bathroom, Fagan entered the palace by shimmying up a drainpipe and through the window of a shocked maid, who headed straight to security. He claims the Queen simply asked, "What are you doing here?" What are you doing here? Fagan says the monarch asked when he pulled back her curtains. Fagan was married in 1972, and had four children, aged 3 to 10. He was released three months later, according to the BBC. It was cheap Californian.. He walked through the sumptuous halls, encountered a storage room where baby gifts sent by the public to the expectant Princess of Wales were kept, shuffled through paperwork, and even drank half a bottle of Prince Charles wine, which proved to be an unexpected vintage. He did suffer from a heart attack and COVID-19 earlier this year, he told The Sun. In 1982, Michael Fagan was a 32-year-old unemployed decorator. It was the first break-in that sent him to court, where he was charged with the theft of Prince Charles wineand summarily acquitted by a jury in just 14 minutes. They discuss where he lives, as well as whether Thatcher is becoming too 'presidential', with Fagan warning the monarch that 'she'll be after your job.'. The Hollywood Reporter claims that in the episode, the Queen and Fagan discuss "love, family and freedom." It was a fiction, I wouldn't have a go at the Queen. Where Is Michael Fagan Now? - Good Housekeeping Three years later, he was found guilty of indecent exposure. I didnt speak to the Queen. I was surprised I wasn't captured straight away," he told the court at a related hearing for burglary in 1982. Theyve just done it to have a pop at the Queen. However, speaking in 2012, he said she left the room immediately to find security.