Scotland Yard has launched an urgent investigation into claims that officers tasked with protecting members of the Royal family have been falling asleep on duty.
Up to 30 officers from the Metropolitan Police’s Royalty and Specialist Protection unit are being investigated amid allegations of widespread misconduct.
As well as being accused of falling asleep while on guard or leaving their posts without permission, some are being investigated over claims they clocked on for duty but then failed to attend their post.
The King has been informed of the allegations.
Most of the claims relate to officers based at Windsor Castle, where a man wielding a crossbow breached security on Christmas Day 2021 and threatened to kill the Queen.
The site has hosted four state visits in the past year, including the visit of Donald Trump last September.
While Windsor Castle is located in the Thames Valley Police area, security is provided by the Met’s specialist team.
Such is the seriousness with which Scotland Yard is taking the matter that the force has committed to make a decision on whether to relieve officers from their royal duties within days.
Alleged behaviour ‘falls below high standards’
A Scotland Yard spokesman said the Met’s Directorate of Professional Standards (DPS) had launched the investigation “following concerns raised regarding the conduct of a number of officers on protective duties at Windsor Castle.”
They added: “The allegations include officers leaving posts unattended and sleeping while on duty.
“The alleged behaviour falls below the high standards expected of officers, particularly in front-line protective roles.
“The Independent Office for Police Conduct has been informed and concluded that this matter will be investigated locally by the Met.
“As part of their enquiries, DPS is assessing whether any of those under investigation should be placed on restricted duties. A decision is expected to be made on this before the end of next week.”
Windsor Castle has been the subject of several security breaches in recent years, including in June 2025 when a man managed to access its grounds after scaling a wall. He was later arrested on suspicion of trespass and possession of drugs.
In October 2024, two men managed to scale a fence and steal farm machinery from the grounds, close to where the Prince and Princess of Wales were staying at the time.
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‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.telegraph.co.uk ’
