Man armed with a crossbow who broke into Queen Elizabeth's castle in an attempt to assassinate the monarch found guilty of treason

• A man pleaded guilty to treason after breaking into Windsor Castle and saying he'd kill the Queen.
• Jaswant Singh Chail, 21, broke into the castle armed with a loaded crossbow on Christmas Day 2021.

A man who threatened to kill Queen Elizabeth II with a loaded crossbow has pleaded guilty to a charge under the Treason Act, the Metropolitan Police said.

Jaswant Singh Chail, 21, broke into the grounds of Windsor Castle — where the Queen was staying at the time — with the potentially lethal weapon on Christmas Day 2021.

When a law-enforcement officer apprehended him, Chail said, "I am here to kill the Queen."

The Metropolitan Police said investigations after his arrest found further evidence of his plans to kill the 95-year-old monarch.

At London's Central Criminal Court on Friday, Chail pleaded guilty under the 19th-century Treason Act to threats to kill and possessing an offensive weapon.

He is due to be sentenced at the Central Criminal Court on March 31.

According to the Metropolitan Police report, Chail entered the Windsor Castle grounds wearing black clothing and a metal mask.

Chail, of North Baddesley, near Southampton, was carrying a note that read, "Please don't remove my clothes, shoes and gloves, masks etc, don't want post-mortem, don't want embalming, thank you and I'm sorry," the BBC reported.

The BBC also reported that Chail posted a Snapchat video just moments before he entered the royal grounds, saying "I'm sorry, I'm sorry for what I've done and what I will do. I will attempt to assassinate Elizabeth, Queen of the Royal Family.

"This is revenge for those who have died in the 1919 Jallianwala Bagh massacre. It is also revenge for those who have been killed, humiliated and discriminated on because of their race."

The Jallianwala Bagh massacre occurred in 1919 when British troops killed up to 1,500 peaceful protesters in the city of Amritsar when England still occupied India.

Crowds of people had gathered to demonstrate against the arrest of pro-Indian independence activists, but British Colonel R. E. H. Dyer ordered his troops to surround the protestors and open fire on them.

Chail appeared in court via a remote-video link from Broadmoor Hospital, a high-security psychiatric hospital.