New Zealand's Security Intelligence Service have just released 37 year-old files that reveal an assassination attempt against the Queen in 1981.
According to the Times, during the Royal's New Zealand tour a teenager, named Christopher John Lewis, fired a .22 calibre rifle at Queen Elizabeth II's motorcade in an attempt to kill her.
Thankfully, Lewis, then 17, missed his shot from his fifth floor hiding place. An intelligence form from the time noted that Lewis, 'did not have a suitable vantage point from which to fire, nor a sufficiently high-powered rifle for the range from the target.'
The teenager attempted to murder the Royal as she stepped from her car outside of a museum in Dunedin, but missed, instead shooting high over the crowds.
Lewis was arrested at the time, however he was only charged with the illegal possession of a gun and firing it in a public place. The charges made no link to an attempt on the Queen's life.
The public authorities have never publicly acknowledged that this was an assassination attempt until now. Back in 1981 journalists at the scene were told the noise made by the shot fired was a sign collapsing.
Now the NZ newspaper called Stuff has unveiled what they're calling a cover up.
Lewis went on to commit a string of armed robberies before committing suicide 14 years later in 1997.
It's terrifying to think that our Queenie has had attempts on her life like this. Long live the Commonwealth's Granny.
Daisy Murray is the Digital Fashion Editor at ELLE UK, spotlighting emerging designers, sustainable shopping, and celebrity style. Since joining in 2016 as an editorial intern, Daisy has run the gamut of fashion journalism - interviewing Molly Goddard backstage at London Fashion Week, investigating the power of androgynous dressing and celebrating the joys of vintage shopping.
