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IRA plotted to assassinate late Queen on royal yacht during US trip, FBI file claims

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Updated on June 17, 2023

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IRA Plotted to Assassinate Late Queen on Royal Yacht during US Trip, FBI File Claims

A shocking revelation has emerged from a 40-year-old FBI file that the Irish Republican Army (IRA) had planned to assassinate the late Queen Elizabeth II during her visit to the United States in 1983.

The FBI document reports that a phone call was made by an anonymous man who claimed to be seeking revenge for his daughter’s death in Northern Ireland by a rubber bullet.

He threatened to harm the Queen either 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 document, now available on the FBI’s online vault, outlines what appears to be intelligence provided to federal agents about a threat to the Queen’s life in California 40 years ago.

“The article stated anti-British feelings are running high as a result of well-publicized injustices inflicted on the Birmingham Six by the corrupt English judicial system and the recent rash of brutal murders of unarmed Irish nationalists in the six counties by loyalist death squads,” the file said.

“Though the article contained no threats against the president or the Queen, the statements could be viewed as being inflammatory.

The article stated that an Irish group had reserved a large block of grandstand tickets.”

Another document, dated 1989, pointed out that while the FBI was unaware of any specific threats against the Queen, “the possibility of threats against the British monarchy is ever present from the IRA.”

The Queen and her husband, the late Duke of Edinburgh, made an official visit to the west coast of America in February and March 1983.

The threat to the Queen’s life during this visit is believed to be the first time such a plot had been made public.

The FBI file further refers to a club that “has a popular reputation as a republican bar that is frequented by sympathizers with the Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA)”.

The FBI document did not reveal if any arrests were made or if any charges were filed related to the plot.

However, the revelation of the plot has come as a shock to many and has led to calls for further investigations into the matter.

In response to the revelations, a spokesperson for Buckingham Palace said: “We do not comment on security matters.” However, the Queen’s former press secretary, Dickie Arbiter, said he was not surprised by the report.

He said: “There are always threats against the royal family and this would have been taken seriously.

There would have been discussions between the UK security services and their counterparts in the US.”

The IRA, which fought against British rule in Northern Ireland for three decades, is responsible for several high-profile attacks on British targets during the Troubles.

The Queen and her family have been targeted by the IRA in the past, including an assassination attempt in 1979 when the group planted a bomb at a military ceremony in London.

The recent disclosure of the IRA plot has reignited fears about the security of the royal family.

The British monarchy has faced several security threats in the past, including the 1981 attack on the Queen during the Trooping the Colour parade and the 2019 incident when a man broke into Buckingham Palace while the Queen was sleeping.

The revelations have also sparked debate about the ongoing conflict between Northern Ireland and the rest of the United Kingdom.

The Good Friday Agreement, signed in 1998, brought an end to the Troubles, but tensions continue to simmer between pro-British and pro-Irish groups in Northern Ireland.

The FBI file has shed light on a dark chapter in the IRA’s history, and has highlighted the ongoing security concerns surrounding the British monarchy.

With the threat of terrorism ever present, it is clear that the security services will need to remain vigilant to ensure the safety of the royal family and other high-profile targets.