As of June 12 , Queen Elizabeth II has been reigning for 63 year . She ’s rule through the presidential term of 10 U.S. presidents , 12 British prime minister of religion , and countless domain event .
But on June 13 , 1981 , it could have all been undo by a teenager . On that day , the Queen was riding her horse on her room to the annualTrooping theColourceremony when six shooter call up out . She was unscathed , and though her Equus caballus was spook , the sovereign was able to calm him and continue along the parade itinerary .
surety hie into the crowd to bump the would - be assassinwearinga “ Charles and Di ” pin — and they were surprised to discover that he had fired sixblankshots . Seventeen - year - one-time Marcus Sarjeant wasobsessedwith the character assassination attempts on Ronald Reagan and Pope John Paul II , andidolizedLee Harvey Oswald and Mark David Chapman .
After the attempt on Reagan in March 1981 , Sarjeant remarked that he wanted to be the first one to “ have a pot - snapshot ” at the Queen . Hoping to reach out the same levels of celebrity as his matinee idol , the teenwroteabout his plan to “ sandbag and stick the world with nothing more than a gun ” and even sent photos of himself posing with his father ’s revolver to various media retail store prior to the attempt .
Fortunately , Sarjeant was unable to get ammo in the U.K. Instead , he settled for the next best thing by carry out what the judge latercalled“a fantasy blackwash ” via blank shell . Sarjeant was sentenced to five class under the 1848 Treason Act , but was released in October 1984 . After his clock time in a psychiatric prison , Sarjeant apparently transfer his mind about wanting celebrity and notoriety . Upon his release , he changed his name , and , accordingto the BBC , started a Modern lifespan .
A tourer was later on look through the photos he had hire and discovered that he had inadvertently snapped achilling shotof Sarjeant pickings design . you may also view the incident unfold in the video below .
