The man who broke into Buckingham Palace

ESL Lessons: True Stories

A printable worksheet for story-based English conversation classes.

Difficulty: Intermediate B1

PDF: The man who broke into Buckingham Palace

Warm-up

Do you know who lives in Buckingham Palace?

Vocabulary Match

wandered •• climbed
scaled •• walked
scandals •• thought
assumed •• illegal entry
trespassing •• mental
psychiatric •• incidents

Vocabulary Answers

wanderedwalked
scaledclimbed
scandalsincidents
assumedthought
trespassingillegal entry
psychiatricmental

True Story

Listen and fill in the blanks with words from above.

In 1982, Michael Fagan shocked Britain by breaking into Buckingham Palace. Early one morning, after drinking all night, he climbed over the palace fence, ________ a drainpipe, and entered through an open window. He ________ through the palace, even setting off alarms, but security staff ________ they were false alerts and turned them off. Then, he walked straight into the Queen's bedroom! She quickly left to call for help.

Strangely, Fagan wasn't charged because ________ wasn't a crime. Instead, he was sent to a ________ hospital. Later, he released a punk song and was arrested for other crimes. His break-in remains one of Britain's biggest security ________.

In 1982, Michael Fagan shocked Britain by breaking into Buckingham Palace. Early one morning, after drinking all night, he climbed over the palace fence, scaled a drainpipe, and entered through an open window. He wandered through the palace, even setting off alarms, but security staff assumed they were false alerts and turned them off. Then, he walked straight into the Queen's bedroom! She quickly left to call for help.

Strangely, Fagan wasn't charged because trespassing wasn't a crime. Instead, he was sent to a psychiatric hospital. Later, he released a punk song and was arrested for other crimes. His break-in remains one of Britain's biggest security scandals.

Quiz

  1. What did Michael Fagan do in 1982?
  2. How did Fagan enter the palace?
  3. What did the security staff think about the alarms?
  4. Why wasn't Fagan charged with a crime?

Quiz Answers (examples)

  1. He broke into Buckingham Palace.
  2. He climbed over the fence and scaled a drainpipe.
  3. They assumed they were false alerts.
  4. Because trespassing wasn't a crime.

True or False

  1. Michael Fagan was charged with a serious crime. T F
  2. Fagan entered the palace through a window. T F
  3. The Queen called for help after Fagan entered her bedroom. T F

True or False Answers

  1. False
  2. True
  3. True

Conversation

A:Michael, how did you get in here?
B:Just climbed a bit, Your Majesty.
A:You know this is Buckingham Palace, right?
B:I do now! Nice place you've got.
A:Security will be here soon.
B:I guess I'll be leaving then.

Discussion

  1. Have you ever visited a famous building?
  2. What would you do if you met a queen or king?
  3. Do you like punk music?
  4. Have you ever climbed something high?
  5. If you couldn't be caught, what place would you break into?

Further Reading

https://www.townandcountrymag.com/leisure/arts-and-culture/a34100472/michael-fagan-buckingham-palace-intruder-facts/

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