Masked burglars smashed down security barrier and scaled Windsor Castle estate fence 'while Prince William and Princess Kate were asleep at home with their children'

Masked men scaled a 6ft obstruction to sneak onto the Windsor Castle property arsenic the Prince and Princess of Wales slept successful their cottage conscionable a stone's propulsion away.

The 2 men reportedly utilized a stolen motortruck to smash done a information gate.

They stole workplace vehicles and drove off in a pick-up and connected a quad motorcycle that they took from a barn astatine Shaw Farm, sources claimed.

Just 5 minutes away, William and Kate and their children George, 11, Charlotte, 9 and Louis, six, are thought to person been peacefully asleep.

The now-wrecked gross is the nearest exit to Adelaide Cottage and the household are often seen utilizing it to travel and go.

It comes aft equipped officers were removed from the nationalist entrances to Windsor Castle.

But the officers are inactive thought to beryllium present, patrolling the grounds of the estate.

A root said the masked thieves indispensable person been 'watching Windsor Castle for immoderate time'.

They told The Sun: 'There are alarms astatine Windsor Castle but the archetypal clip anyone knew determination was a break-in was erstwhile they crashed done the information obstruction astatine Shaw Farm Gate exit.

'It was a Sunday nighttime connected a schoolhouse week truthful the young princess and princess would person been tucked successful furniture astatine Adelaide Cottage, conscionable astir the country but inactive successful the grounds.'

The King was successful Scotland and Camilla was said to beryllium successful India astatine the clip of the raid. 

A spokesperson for Thames Valley Police said: 'At astir 11.45pm connected Sunday October 13, we received a study of burglary astatine a spot connected Crown Estate onshore adjacent to the A308 successful Windsor.

'Offenders entered a workplace gathering and made disconnected with a achromatic Isuzu pick-up and a reddish quad bike. They past made disconnected towards the Old Windsor/Datchet area.

'No arrests person been made astatine this signifier and an probe is ongoing.

The Wales household moved from Kensington Palace to Adelaide Cottage, located wrong Windsor Great Park, successful the summertime of 2022.

Their penchant was for a residence that required nary renovation oregon added information arrangements (in contrast, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle spent £2.6m fixing up adjacent Frogmore Cottage).

Additionally, 4 bedrooms were deemed capable since determination are nary live-in unit members. Instead, aides commute to the spot arsenic and erstwhile their services are needed.

Nestled astatine the bosom of the Crown Estate's backstage 655-acre royal park, Adelaide Cottage was built successful 1831 arsenic a retreat for William IV's woman Queen Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen.

It was besides known to beryllium a favourite location of Queen Victoria, arsenic she often enjoyed taking her meal there.

However, the astir celebrated erstwhile nonmigratory has to beryllium the precocious Princess Margaret's ex-lover, Group Captain Peter Townsend, whose matter with the Queen's sister caused a nationalist scandal.

The cottage underwent large renovations successful 2015, which meant that Prince William and Kate did not request to ammunition retired millions successful remodelling the house.

Adelaide Cottage inactive boasts archetypal features, including a marble Graeco-Egyptian fireplace and a main bedroom, with a coved ceiling featuring gilded dolphins and enactment ornament reused from the Royal yacht Royal George.

The procession to Windsor Castle during the precocious Queen's ceremonial began from the Shaw Farm gate, which has since been replaced aft being mowed down during the raid.

Other Windsor Castle information scares see 1 which occurred connected Christmas Day 2021, erstwhile a crossbow intruder climbed a obstruction and claimed helium wanted to termination the Queen.

Jaswant Singh Chail, 23, was jailed for 9 years for treason.

MailOnline contacted Kensington Palace for comment.