Met Police investigate Windsor Castle officers over sleeping on duty allegations

The Metropolitan Police launched an urgent investigation into officers on protective duties at Windsor Castle after concerns were raised that some had left posts unattended and slept while on duty. The force’s Directorate of Professional Standards is handling the case, the Independent Office for Police Conduct has been informed, and the Met said the matter will be investigated locally.

Reports said about 30 officers may be under scrutiny, with a decision on whether any should be placed on restricted duties expected before the end of next week. Buckingham Palace declined to comment. The allegations cut to the core of a unit that is meant to provide constant vigilance around King Charles III and Queen Camilla, where even brief lapses can carry serious security implications.

Windsor Castle sits in Berkshire, but its security is managed by the Metropolitan Police’s Royalty and Specialist Protection team. Officers are deployed at entrances and exits and across the 655-acre Windsor Castle estate, which places them inside one of the most sensitive protection environments in the country even though the castle lies within the Thames Valley Police boundary.

The scrutiny comes against a backdrop of recent security scares at the site. In December 2021, Jaswant Singh Chail entered the castle grounds with a loaded crossbow and later became the first person convicted of treason in the UK since 1981. The case exposed how quickly an intrusion could escalate at a location associated with the Royal Family, Prince William and Princess Kate, and watched by the public and the state alike.

More recently, thieves stole a pickup truck and a quad bike from a farm building on the Windsor Castle estate in an incident reported to have happened just before midnight on October 13, 2024, and also damaged a security barrier. That burglary prompted further questions about the layers of protection around the estate, where armed and unarmed policing decisions carry both operational and public confidence consequences.

The Met has said security arrangements at Windsor Castle are kept under constant review. That principle now faces a hard test: whether the force can police alleged lapses inside one of its highest-profile protective units with the same rigor expected around the monarchy’s most sensitive location.