guardian.co.uk, Monday 4 March 2013 07.30 GMT
Offended by the monarch's curt reply to the poems he had sent her, man tries to shoot the Queen outside Windsor rail station
Queen Victoria in 1897. Photograph: Hulton-Deutsch Collection/CORBIS
The Queen has not suffered from the attempt made upon her life by the man Maclean, and Her Majesty continues calm and in excellent spirits. Throughout the forenoon today the grand quadrangle was visited by a number of residents, groups of spectators collecting at the base of the Round Tower and watching the principal entrance to obtain a glimpse of Her Majesty whenever she might leave the palace. After receiving a visit from Sir W. Harcourt, the Home Secretary, Her Majesty and Princess Beatrice quitted the palace at noon and went out for a walk in the Home Park.
In the course of the morning service held at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, a special thanksgiving prayer was offered for the preservation of the Queen's life, and the subject was also alluded to in the lecture. Sir J.R. Elvey, the organist, played the National Anthem as the congregation were quitting the sacred building.
It may now be authoritatively stated that Maclean is no doubt insane. This afternoon a telegram was received at Windsor Castle by Inspector Fraser, of the Royal Household Police, stating that it has been ascertained that the accused had been confined in the Wells Lunatic Asylum, whence he was only discharged last September. Since then he has been a patient in the Weston-Super-Mare infirmary.
Further information obtained today respecting the attempt on the Queen's life proves beyond doubt that Her Majesty had a remarkable escape and that she was actually in danger from the daring act of the would-be assassin. The discovery of the bullet fired at the Queen completely disposes of the theory that the charge contained in the chamber of the weapon was merely a blank cartridge.
As an illustration of the narrow escape of Her Majesty, it may be mentioned that a man was placed on the spot from which the shot was fired, and one at the place where the bullet was picked up. It was at once evident that Her Majesty was immediately in the line of fire.
Sir William Harcourt expressed to the bystanders his horror of the attempted deed, and measured the distance between the spot where the revolver was discharged and the point where the bullet must have passed closest to Her Majesty. This was found to be 15 paces. It may here be mentioned that two Eton scholars, who are described as "brave, stalwart boys," named Wilson and Robinson, who were the means, by hustling the would-be regicide, of saving the life of the Queen, met with a tremendous ovation of applause from their college chums when they returned to Eton last night.
[This was the seventh attempt to assassinate Queen Victoria during her reign. Roderick Maclean was tried for high treason and found "not guilty, but insane," prompting Queen Victoria to ask for a change in the law so that defendants could be found "guilty, but insane". Maclean was sent to Broadmoor and died there in 1921.]
