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Police challenge Prince Andrew on Buckingham Palace grounds

LONDON, Sept. 7 (UPI) -- Two police officers stopped Prince Andrew on the grounds of Buckingham Palace two days after a stranger was caught inside, British media reported Saturday.

While a man climbed a fence and made his way into Buckingham Palace in London before being captured in a state room about 10 p.m. Monday, the duke of York, one of Queen Elizabeth's children, found himself confronted by two uniformed officers in the palace gardens about 6 p.m. Wednesday, The Daily Telegraph and Daily Express said.

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While Metropolitan Police did not identify the man who was ordered to verify his identity, the Telegraph said it was Andrew, who earlier had been at a business meeting in central London.

"The man was satisfactorily identified. No weapons were drawn and no force was used," a police said in a statement.

Police said the Monday night intruder and an alleged accomplice found outside were released on bail after lengthy interrogation, the Daily Mirror reported Friday. Investigators were checking the two men's backgrounds to make sure they had no links to terrorism, police said.

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The queen and her husband were at their Scottish retreat, Balmoral, at the time of that incident. Officials said she had been told of the break-in.

"This is being treated with the utmost seriousness. There are many red faces as the man gained access unchallenged," a source told the Mirror. "An investigation will set out to ensure that this never happens again."

The Express said the queen, her husband Prince Philip and another of her sons, Prince Charles, appeared at the Braemar Gathering in Aberdeenshire Saturday, where they watched pipe bands and dancers perform before a large crowd.

In 1982, Michael Fagan, an unemployed man, broke into the queen's bedroom while she was asleep. He spent six months in a mental hospital, and his mother later said he had great respect for the queen and probably wanted to discuss his problems with her.

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