An intruder eventually crept inside the Buckingham Palace at 2 a.m. this morning while Queen Elizabeth II slept just feet away.
According to Fox News, the intruder breached all the security checks at the palace and roamed loosely inside while everyone was fast asleep.
The Sun can reveal and as cited by Fox News, the 22-year-old intruder was able to scale a fence at the front of the building to get inside the monarch's home, where he was able to attempt to bang down the doors of the residence.
Sources say that it took almost four minutes for the cops to reach on the site to apprehend him while they tried to assess whether he was armed - which caused enough panic within the palace.
There are speculations that the man was trying to attempt a copycat operation to Michael Fagan who was famously able to enter the Queen's bedroom almost 37 years ago.
One of the royal insiders revealed that: "There was an intruder at the Palace while the Queen lay sleeping in her bedroom and he was on the loose for a good few minutes before the cops arrested him. He was determined to get inside the palace and was banging down the doors but, thank goodness, this time everything was locked up."
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The intruder knew that the Queen was at home and may have been trying to access her bedroom.
The royal source added: "This intruder got into the Palace almost 37 years to the day since Michael Fagan ended up getting inside the Queen's bedroom. There is a genuine theory and very real fear that he could have been launching a copycat operation."
"The police eventually detained him under the mental health act, but they have to ask some serious questions about how he got on and how he had so long to roam free. How is it possible all these years later that someone can climb the fence and get right inside the grounds without being stopped immediately? What about heat sensors and CCTV? The Queen's safety should be paramount," the source concluded.
The insiders at the Buckingham Palace last night revealed that the Queen is yet to be informed of the incident.
A Palace source explained: "Of course this will be a matter of great interest to the Queen. She knows exactly what is going on at the Palace."
The Sun understands and as cited by Fox News, that the Queen was the only senior royal sleeping at the Palace because of the refurbishment work going on. We don't believe the Duke of Edinburgh was there.
The intrusion is a devastating blow to the security operation at the palace, which has been struck by a number of similar incidents.