Australian writer paraglides into Buckingham Palace

There was no threat to members of the royal family.

The Queen was away at the Sandringham estate in eastern England where her grandsons William and Harry were dealing with flying visitors of a different nature during a traditional post-Christmas pheasant shoot.

Police said the man was questioned by detectives at a central London police station and later released on police bail pending further inquiries.

"He was arrested for breaches of the Air Navigation Order which relates to Air Traffic Control," a police spokesman said.

The mauve and white parachute bore the Internet address brettdelamare.com. The site belongs to Brett de la Mare, an Australian from the Northern Territories seeking to publish his book "Canine Dawn".

The site includes photographs of de la Mare paragliding and quotes him as speaking of the frustration of being shunned by publishers.

ACTION ADVENTURE

He describes "Canine Dawn" as an action adventure set in the Australian outback.

"I’ve written a book…and I’m out to get it published," the site said. "Brother, let me tell you, so far it’s been hell. But until it is, I’m prepared to do whatever craziness it takes."

De la Mare also left a message on his mobile telephone:

"Hi this is Brett, I’m sorry you missed me. I am incarcerated right now or something. Please leave me a message and I will get back to you as soon as I am free."

Canadian tourist Carolin Smith watched the parachute’s dramatic descent from outside the high gates of one of the capital’s most famous attractions.

"It was just like a James Bond film. He was circling above the palace aiming for the ground but the helicopter was trying to steer him away," she told London’s Evening Standard

newspaper.

"He was dressed all in black with a crash helmet," she said.

A royal spokesman said that police who guarded the palace 24 hours a day seized the man as soon as he landed at around 1:00 pm (1300 GMT).

The stunt was reminiscent of a flight made by a half-naked paraglider in February 1994 who landed on the palace roof.

That came a month after a student brandishing a starting pistol lunged at heir-to-the-throne Prince Charles during a tour of Australia.

But the most famous security breach of royal residences occurred in 1982, when unemployed Michael Fagan scaled a Buckingham Palace drain pipe to reach Queen Elizabeth’s bedroom where he sat chatting with her for several minutes.