“Off With Their Heads!” – British Royals Attacked By Mob – With Video
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Students can be heard chanting “off with their heads” as they kicked the vehicle and the footage shows a visibly shaken Duchess of Cornwall.
The Prince and Camilla were on their way to the Royal Variety Performance at the London Palladium when their car came under-attack from rioters.
Their 1977 Phantom VI had toughened glass but was designed to give the public the best possible view of members of the Royal family, not to be an armoured vehicle.
After the show, the royal couple thanked police and said that they “totally understand the difficulties which the police face” and are “always very grateful to the police” for the job they do.
The Daily Mail:
The Duchess of Cornwall was jabbed in the ribs with a stick through an open car window as she and Prince Charles were surrounded by a baying mob in the worst royal security breach in a generation.
The full extent of the ‘stupid and reckless’ blunder which left Camilla, 63, cowering on the floor of the royal Rolls-Royce became clear last night as MPs called for a full inquiry.
It is believed the royal couple were driven blindly into the violent mob because of a breakdown in police communications.
Sources said the Duchess, who has not made a formal complaint to police, was ‘very scared’ when a yob leaned into the car and prodded her with the stick.
One of the car’s rear windows was opened in error as rioters chanted ‘off with their heads’ and ‘Tory scum’.
The Duchess, 63, was said to be recovering well from her ordeal yesterday – but questions were mounting for Scotland Yard, over why the couple were ‘sitting ducks’ for the mob.
A senior government source said: ‘It is completely ridiculous that they were driving there at that time in a vintage Rolls-Royce.’
Amid reports that armed officers were ‘seconds’ from pulling out their weapons, Met chief Sir Paul Stephenson said: ‘The officers who were protecting their Royal Highnesses showed very real restraint – some of those officers were armed.
‘Their priority was to get that car to the point of safety, which was the venue, and that was achieved, but it was a hugely shocking incident.’
Charles and Camilla’s car was surrounded as it drove down Regent Street in London’s West End to a Royal Variety Performance at the London Palladium, with protesters kicking the doors and shattering a rear window.
At one point it was rocked and hit with paint bombs.
Witness Gordon Spurs, 26, said: ‘The Rolls-Royce took a real pasting. It was terrifying to watch – the crowd were baying for blood.’
A senior police source told the Mail: ‘It was stupid to allow Charles and Camilla into that area in such a distinctive car, and then simply reckless to drive them through that mob of thugs.’
Last night one report said Prince Charles asked to travel down Regent Street after a discussion with his protection officers – although sources stressed it was a matter for police to decide the exact route.
Another report said officers guarding Charles and Camilla were using radios on a different channel from those patrolling the riots, meaning they received no warning that protesters were blocking their path.
Despite the seriousness of the case, sources close to Sir Paul said he had no plans to order an independent inquiry, nor would he offer to quit over the fiasco.
Astonishingly, one police official said an initial internal review of the Regent Street incident had not highlighted any major problems.
Sir Paul said: ‘That was a very shocking incident and hugely regrettable. Their Royal Highnesses ought to be commended for their fortitude.’
Asked whether the car should have travelled the route, he said: ‘That route was thoroughly recced in advance including several minutes beforehand when it was still clear.’
Prime Minister David Cameron issued an unusually critical statement, branding the attack ‘a very regrettable lapse of security’.
He blamed the ‘people who tried to smash up that car’ but made clear that ‘lessons must be learned’.
‘The scenes people saw on their TV screens were completely unacceptable,’ he said. ‘I don’t think we can go on saying a small minority were there.
‘There were quite a lot of people who were hell-bent on violence and destroying property.
‘I want to make sure they feel the full force of the law.’
London Mayor Boris Johnson told the Mail the inquiry into the fiasco would be overseen by the force’s watchdog, the Metropolitan Police Authority.
A Clarence House spokesman said diplomatically: ‘Their Royal Highnesses understand the difficulties police face and are always grateful to them for the job they do in challenging circumstances.’
But MPs demanded a full independent inquiry.
Patrick Mercer, former chairman of the counter-terrorism committee, said police had left the Royal couple as ‘sitting ducks’.
He said: ‘Yesterday was only sticks and stones but next time it could be bullets and bombs and that must never happen.’
Keith Vaz, chairman of the Home Affairs Select Committee, said Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary should investigate.
He said: ‘As with the G20 protests, internal inquiries will not satisfy the public.’
Former shadow home secretary David Davis added: ‘The situation requires someone from outside the Met to investigate.’
Prince Charles said last night his wife was ‘fine’ and ‘dealing with’ the attack.
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