Assassination attempt on Queen Victoria’s life

Assassination attempt on Queen Victoria’s life

On 2nd March 1882, a mentally disturbed man named Roderick McLean shot a gun toward the Queen’s carriage, as it stood nearby Windsor station in London.

Fortunately for Victoria, two boys in the crowd spotted the gunman before he shot and were able to knock him off balance with their umbrellas.
This caused the bullet to miss its royal target.

The boys were from Eton, one of the best of British preparatory schools.
They were honored in the quadrangle of Windsor Castle three days later, with a personal meeting with the Queen.
Their 900 classmates stood in attendance.

Although Victoria was shaken up by the affair, the outpouring of sympathy from her subjects caused her to write humorously in her diary,

“It is worth being shot at – to see how much one is loved.”

Queen Victoria c.1882
By Alexander Bassano
National Portrait Gallery.