Plan B Forum

Prince Andrew Forgives Palace Police for Confronting Him in Buckingham's Garden

Prince Andrew said he is "grateful" for an apology he received from London's Metropolitan Police after they confronted him in Buckingham Palace's garden and demanded he identify himself just days after an intruder broke into the royal residence.

Queen Elizabeth II's second son accepted the police's apology, and said he looked forward to "a safe walk in the garden in the future," according to a statement.

Prince Andrew was spending time in the palace garden on Wednesday when he was stopped, the Metropolitan Police statement said. Officials reportedly shouted at a man, whom they did not initially recognize as the Duke of York, to put his hands up, before learning the would-be intruder was in fact the queen's second son.

Police confirmed that the man they questioned in the palace's gardens was Prince Andrew, according to a statement. The British tabloid, the Sunday Express, first wrote about the incident with the accompanying headline, "Prince Andrew Held at Gunpoint."

Metropolitan Police have apologized to the Duke for "any inconvenience caused," and told ABC News "no arms were drawn, no force was used" in the incident.

Buckingham Palace's former press secretary Dickie Arbiter told ABC News that this security snafu, while embarrassing, should come as no surprise.

"This time of year, when you have tens of thousands of people coming into the palace to view it and are exiting through the garden, and then suddenly you see somebody in an area where the public shouldn't be, then yes, you are going to confront that person," Arbiter said.

The mix-up on Wednesday may have been brought on by an incident that occurred at Buckingham Palace on Monday, when an intruder broke into the queen's home.

Police are investigating how the burglar scaled the 12-foot walls, kicked in a door, and entered the palace's State Rooms, where the queen once hosted President Obama.

He was arrested along with an accomplice, who was waiting outside, on suspicion of burglary and conspiracy to commit burglary, respectively, The Associated Press reported.

While the Metropolitan Police wouldn't link the two incidents, they said they are taking both matters seriously and are reviewing all aspects of Buckingham Palace security.

"The queen's famous words are get it right, put it right, and there will be a review, that you can be certain of, and hopefully it will be put right," former royal chief of protection Dai Davies told ABCNews.com