Man who broke into Queen's bedroom while she slept reacts to her death

Michael Fagan, the man who broke into the Queen's bedroom in 1982, has reacted to news of her death. See how he made it into the palace:

40 years ago, an out of work painter broke into Buckingham Palace and got into Queen Elizabeth II's bedroom, waking her up as he pulled back the curtains.

He later admitted he was 'just as shocked as she was' and stood there 'shaking' as he didn't know what he should ask.

Fagan said the Queen got out of bed and told him she'd go and get somebody and after a while, a footman arrived and took him for a drink of whiskey before the police arrived.

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Two nights before that, he'd managed to break into the palace for the first time, admitting that he was able to scale a fence and climb a drainpipe before getting in through an unlocked window.

During his first 'visit', Fagan sat on the thrones, peed on the corgis food (he couldn't find a toilet and wasn't in a position to ask for directions) and drank some of the then-Prince Charles' wine.

Famous ever since as the man who broke into the Queen's bedroom, Fagan, now 74, has given his reaction to her death at the age of 96.

Speaking outside his flat in Islington, he said he'd gone to church to light a candle for her and thought that Charles would make a good King.

He said: "I am quite sad that she has gone. I don’t want to say anything more - just that I hope she rests in peace.

"I have no plans to go to the funeral but I have been to church to light a candle for her and hopefully it is all behind me."

"I think Charles will do a good job and look after the planet. He will be very good at that. There is also too much division between the rich and poor in society and I think Charles will help heal that."

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Since Fagan's break ins others have tried to do what he has done by getting into Buckingham Palace, but their attempts have been unsuccessful.

Police are a bit more vigilant since they realised that the same guy was able to break into the palace twice and wander around for a while, even making it as far as the Queen's bedroom.

Fagan remains the only person to have successfully broken into Buckingham Palace while the monarch has been in residence, though in 2013 a 41-year-old man was able to get in after scaling a fence and kicking down a door.

Buckingham Palace only became a protected site under the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 in 2007.