Most people just get drunk in pubs so that they can meet a new romantic partner. But one brave man had loftier goals: to scale a royal castle.
Robert Pennefather, 32, admitted to trespassing the Windsor Castle after hitting the bottle too hard, the Daily Telegraph reported. He was so drunk, however, that he didn't know he was trespassing. Rather, he thought that he had already been drinking at the castle all night, and was actually just trying to leave when he began scaling an 8-foot-gate guarding the royal residence.
Police found him just 65 feet away from the Queen's private apartments, BBC News reported. He is now banned from all pubs in the United Kingdom for a year.
More from GlobalPost: Promises, pitfalls await investors in Burma’s frontier economy
"This was a very serious matter indeed as you must realize now that you are sober," Chief Magistrate Howard Riddle told Pennefather, according to the Telegraph. "There was a significant breach of security in a way that shows you were sufficiently competent to climb at least a 5-foot-barricade."
Pennefather told reporters that he had been drinking lager, but that his friends left him before he made it to the castle.
His defense lawyer called it a "case of drunken folly," according to the BBC. He also received a 14-day jail sentence and a £1,000 fine.
The news comes just as the British government moved one step closer today to banning cheap liquor in the UK, The Globe and Mail reported.
We rely on support from listeners and readers like you to keep our stories free and accessible to all. Monthly gifts are particularly meaningful because they help us plan ahead and concentrate on the stories that matter. Will you consider donating $10/month, so we can continue bringing you The World? Donations made between now and Dec. 31 will be matched 1:1. Thanks for investing in our work!