Newly released FBI documents reveal that Queen Elizabeth II faced a potential assassination threat during a 1983 visit to the US. The files show that the FBI, which helped secure the monarch’s safety during her visits, was concerned about IRA threats. The assassination threat was made to a police officer in San Francisco, who warned federal agents about a call from a man he had met at an Irish pub. The man said he was seeking revenge for his daughter who had been killed in Northern Ireland by a rubber bullet. The threat was to harm Queen Elizabeth II by dropping an object off the Golden Gate Bridge onto the Royal Yacht Britannia or by attempting to kill her when she visited Yosemite National Park. The Secret Service planned to close the walkways on the Golden Gate Bridge as the yacht neared. It is unclear what measures were taken at Yosemite, but the visit went ahead. The 102-page cache was uploaded to the Vault, the FBI’s information website, on Monday, following a Freedom of Information Act request submitted by US media outlets.
In light of the recent news by newly released FBI documents, Queen Elizabeth II faced a potential assassination threat during her visit to the US in 1983. The files were released following the late Queen’s death last year and show how the FBI helped secure her safety during her travels to the US. The documents reveal how the FBI was worried about IRA threats and how they remained vigilant to what they considered to be the real potential of threats to the late Queen.
The threat came on 4 February 1983, about a month ahead of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip’s visit to California. An officer who frequented an Irish pub in San Francisco warned federal agents about a call from a man he had met at the venue. The man told him he was seeking revenge for his daughter who “had been killed in Northern Ireland by a rubber bullet”. He was going to attempt to harm Queen Elizabeth and would do this either by dropping some object off the Golden Gate Bridge onto the Royal Yacht Britannia when it sails underneath or would attempt to kill Queen Elizabeth when she visited Yosemite National Park.
In response to the threat, the Secret Service had planned to “close the walkways on the Golden Gate Bridge as the yacht nears”. It is unclear what measures were taken at Yosemite, but the visit went ahead. No details of arrests were published by the FBI.
The 102-page cache was uploaded to the Vault, the FBI’s information website, on Monday, following a Freedom of Information Act request submitted by US media outlets. The files show how the FBI remained vigilant to what it considered to be the real potential of threats to the late Queen. Her second cousin Lord Mountbatten was killed in an IRA bombing off the coast of County Sligo, Republic of Ireland, in 1979.
In 1976, the late Queen was in New York City for America’s Bicentennial celebrations. The documents reveal how a summons was issued to a pilot for flying a small plane over Battery Park with a sign that read “England, Get out of Ireland.”
Ahead of a personal visit by the late Queen to Kentucky in 1989, an internal FBI memo read “the possibility of a terrorist act occurring during the Queen’s visit cannot be discounted.” The memo also revealed that the FBI was concerned about the possibility of a car bomb attack on the Queen’s motorcade.
The newly released documents provide a fascinating insight into the measures taken by the FBI to protect the late Queen during her visits to the US. Despite the potential threats, the Queen continued to travel to the US and meet with world leaders during her reign. Her visits helped to strengthen the relationship between the US and the UK and showed the world the importance of diplomacy and international cooperation.
With everything considered, the newly released FBI documents show how the FBI helped secure the safety of Queen Elizabeth II during her visits to the US. The files reveal how the FBI remained vigilant to what it considered to be the real potential of threats to the late Queen and how they took measures to protect her. Despite the potential threats, the Queen continued to travel to the US and meet with world leaders during her reign, showing the importance of diplomacy and international cooperation.
