Royal Watch News

Queen Elizabeth's illegal guard

Jul 24, 2009, 11:00 GMT

A soldier guarding Britain's Queen Elizabeth was discovered to be an illegal immigrant.

The man, from an African commonwealth country and known as Guardsman Kapinga, was arrested after his real identity was found following a car accident.

It is believed he joined the elite 1st Battalion Irish Guards - where he was trained in marksmanship, grenade throwing, how to use a rocket launcher, and the Army's Bowman radio system and took part in last month's Trooping the Colour ceremony - under a false name.

A senior military officer said: "This is a blunder of unparalleled proportions. For an illegal immigrant to gain membership of any Army regiment is unbelievable when you consider the potential damage an enemy could do there.

"But to be accepted into a Guards regiment, and therefore to have such close proximity to the monarch, is nothing short of a scandal."

Royal officials are said to be "extremely unhappy" over the error.

A source told Britain's The Sun newspaper: "There have been royal security breaches in the past but to find out the problem came from within the queen's personal guard is astonishing."

The soldier, who joined the army in November 2008, was arrested by Hampshire police on Monday (20.07.09) and found to have a number of aliases.