Buckingham Palace was reportedly in lockdown early on Wednesday (AEST) after a man approached the gates and threw items “suspected to be shotgun cartridges” into the grounds, police say.
The man was dramatically arrested and people outside the palace told to leave as the area was cordoned off.
There were reports of a loud explosion which media are reporting was a “controlled explosion” after the arrest.
The King and the Queen Consort were not at Buckingham Palace at the time of the arrest, writes the BBC.
Just hours earlier, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese had been at Buckingham Palace, meeting the King.
Chief Superintendent Joseph McDonald said there were no reports of any shots fired, or any injuries to officers or the public.
“The man has been arrested on suspicion of possession of an offensive weapon,” police said in a statement.
“Officers worked immediately to detain the man and he has been taken into police custody.
“Officers remain at the scene and further inquiries are ongoing.”
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The arrest came as Britain prepares for the King’s historic coronation on Saturday.
At the coronation at Westminster Abbey, people all around the world will be invited to cry out and swear allegiance to the monarch in an Homage of the People.
The homage is a new aspect to the coronation and is not mandatory for attendees.
Mr Albanese, a long-time Republican, appeared to confirm to Morgan that he would pledge allegiance to the King. Asked if he would swear the oath, he said he would do “what is entirely appropriate as the representative of Australia”.
Australian Republican Movement chair Craig Foster has called the pledge “absurd” and urged Mr Albanese to “politely decline”.
“The Australian Prime Minister and MPs should pledge loyalty to the Australian people, not a foreign monarch who is completely detached from Australian life, democratic principles and accountability, and Australian values,” he said on Twitter.
The King meets Anthony Albanese at Buckingham Palace ahead of the coronation. Photo: AAP
Mr Albanese is among a contingent of Australians invited to the coronation, along with Governor-General David Hurley and all the state governors.
The Australian delegation includes Matildas captain and football star Sam Kerr, singer Nick Cave, Aboriginal artist Jasmine Coe, comedian Adam Hills and London-based nurse Emily Regan.
The King, who is the monarch of 14 overseas realms including Australia, will host a lunch for prime ministers and governors-general at Buckingham Palace and also attend a Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting on Friday, the day before his crowning.
Mr Albanese said he would be “meeting with other world leaders to strengthen Australia’s relationships around the world” during his visit to Britain.
‘Long live King Charles’
The first Homage of the People is an attempt to modernise the coronation to include those watching from all over the world.
It replaces the traditional Homage of Peers, in which a long line of hereditary peers knelt and made a pledge to the monarch in person.
The office of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Lambeth Palace, said it was hoped the significant change to the historic service would result in a “great cry around the nation and around the world of support for the King” from those watching on television, online or gathered in the open air at big screens.
The Archbishop will call upon “all persons of goodwill in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and of the other realms and the territories to make their homage, in heart and voice, to their undoubted King, defender of all”.
The order of service will read: “All who so desire, in the Abbey, and elsewhere, say together:
“All: I swear that I will pay true allegiance to Your Majesty, and to your heirs and successors according to law. So help me God.”
It will be followed by the playing of a fanfare.
The Archbishop of Canterbury will then proclaim “God save the King”, with all asked to respond: “God save King Charles. Long live King Charles. May the King live for ever.”
A spokesman for Lambeth Palace said technology made it possible for people watching the Westminster Abbey ceremony around the world to pay homage to the King.
“Our hope is at that point, when the Archbishop invites people to join in, that people wherever they are, if they’re watching at home on their own, watching the telly, will say it out loud – this sense of a great cry around the nation and around the world of support for the King,” the spokesman said.
