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New Zealand Teenager Tried to Kill Queen Elizabeth in 1981
BBC ^

Posted on 03/05/2018 4:07:46 PM PST by nickcarraway

A teenager tried to kill Queen Elizabeth II during a visit to New Zealand in 1981, declassified official documents confirm.

Christopher Lewis, 17, fired a shot as the Queen toured the city of Dunedin, New Zealand's Security Intelligence Service (SIS) said.

Police had said at the time that the gunshot sound had been caused by a sign falling over, local media report.

A former police officer and local media have suggested a cover-up took place.

New Zealand feared future royal tours could be cancelled, it is claimed.

The royal parade took place in Dunedin on 14 October 1981. Police and members of the public heard "what they took to be a shot", according to the declassified documents obtained by news website Stuff.

Lewis was arrested shortly afterwards and police discovered a rifle and used gun cartridge in a building overlooking the parade.

"Lewis did indeed originally intend to assassinate the Queen," the documents say. But he "did not have a suitable vantage point from which to fire, nor a sufficiently high-powered rifle for the range".

Lewis was not charged with attempting to kill the Queen but was accused instead of offences including discharging a firearm.

(Excerpt) Read more at bbc.com ...


TOPICS: History; Miscellaneous; Weird Stuff
KEYWORDS: christopherlewis; dunedin; newzealand; queenelizabethii; unitedkingdom

1 posted on 03/05/2018 4:07:46 PM PST by nickcarraway
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To: nickcarraway

That close to King Charles and his ditsy wife Diana...


2 posted on 03/05/2018 4:16:58 PM PST by Snickering Hound
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To: Snickering Hound

It was just after their wedding, so they still would have been in their honeymoon with the public.


3 posted on 03/05/2018 4:19:01 PM PST by nickcarraway
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To: nickcarraway

He didn’t have GHW Bush and the CIA to help him.


4 posted on 03/05/2018 5:02:00 PM PST by Chauncey Gardiner
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