Chilling words of assassin who fired six shots at Queen during Trooping the Colour

Trooping the Colour is one of the biggest events of the royal calendar as it marks the monarch’s official birthday celebration. While the event is usually full of joy and celebration, there was one year during Queen Elizabeth’s reign that this ended up not being quite the case.

In June 1981, the late Queen was riding horseback in the parade on her beloved horse Burmese down The Mall when six blank shots were fired her way. As the shots rang out, her horse ended up being petrified, with the late Queen simply calming the animal down and continuing on in the parade.

While the late monarch didn’t seem to bat an eyelid, a soldier was quick to tackle 17-year-old Marcus Sarjeant - who fired the shots - to the ground before he was swiftly arrested.

Sarjeant reportedly told the soldier Lance -Corporal Alex Galloway a chilling six-word sentence: “I wanted to be a somebody.”

He also said: “I wanted to be famous.”

It was also reported that Sarjeant had sent a letter to Buckingham Palace before the attack, however it arrived three days after the incident.

It read: “Your Majesty. Don't go to the Trooping the Colour ceremony because there is an assassin set up to kill you, waiting just outside the palace.”

Sarjeant, who had bought two imitation Colt Python revolvers for £66.90 before the event, was jailed for five years under the 1842 Treason Act.

It is believed he sent a letter of apology to the late Queen during his prison sentence.

While the incident was believed to have been scary for the late monarch, it did not deter her from getting back on the horse during later Trooping the Colour ceremonies.

Although the current monarch King Charles, 76, is skilled enough to ride horseback in the parade, and has done so before, he will be in a carriage instead this year. This was also the case last year following the monarch’s cancer diagnosis, which he is still undergoing treatment for.