Stalker at George’s school ‘had mental health problems’
How on earth did a ‘stalker’ stroll into George’s school?
A WOMAN suspected of trying to break into Prince George’s school suffered a breakdown in recent months, it emerged last night.
The suspect, named locally as Louise Crawford Chantry, 40, is said to have ‘precarious mental health’ and was known to police.
Last year, she stayed for eight nights in four Bath hotels and racked up £1,000 in unpaid bills before going to Denmark to stay with family members.
It is understood that Mrs Chantry had been diagnosed with clinical depression and had split from her husband. Her relationship with her mother is also said to have become turbulent recently.
Mrs Chantry, who was released on bail
Yesterday’s Daily Mail yesterday, is believed to have had run-ins with the authorities and is thought to be in ‘difficult circumstances’.
Neighbours at her former home in Littlehampton, West Sussex, said they believed she had mental-health issues and her marriage had failed a year ago. Her estranged husband is only thought to have learned of her arrest yesterday.
The four-year-old prince was oblivious to the security scare caused when Mrs Chantry allegedly talked her way into Thomas’s London Day School in Battersea, south-west London.
His father, Prince William, yesterday said his son has had a ‘very interesting week’ at the £18,000 prep school.
Mrs Chantry is understood to have spent ‘at least several minutes’ inside the school.
She was questioned for almost 24 hours at Wandsworth police station before being driven away by officers yesterday.
Under her bail conditions, she must return to a police station next month. Members of her family were said to be unwilling to take her in after her arrest. A source described her situation as a ‘sad case’, adding: ‘ This is no criminal mastermind.’
Scotland Yard chiefs are now considering whether further measures are needed to ensure the safety of the prince. Experts warn that the school, which is in an ageing building on a high street, cannot be turned into a fortress.
Tens of thousands of pounds have already been spent on an electronic entrance system, which controls reinforced glass doors.
CCTV cameras connected to a facial- recognition system also cover every approach to the school, which can be locked down behind 7ft wrought-iron gates.
The future king was back in class yesterday after arriving in a convoy of police Range-Rovers. He was without his father, who was visiting Merseyside, or the Duchess of Cambridge who has extreme morning sickness.
Teachers at Thomas’s were on alert after the drama on Tuesday when the woman got into the school, claiming to be a visitor.
She escaped when challenged by staff but was spotted loitering nearby 24 hours later, leading to her arrest on suspicion of attempted burglary. Police suspect she may have fixated on the prince after seeing publicity about his first day at school last week.
A spokesman said: ‘We are working with the school to review security. Police are part of the protective security arrangements for the Prince. The school is responsible for building security on its site.’