A FAKE priest who was allowed into Army barracks by soldiers who protect the Queen earlier tried to bluff a pub landlord to get a free meal by posing as Prince Harry’s American pal.
The imposter – wearing a vicar’s dog collar – conned Coldstream Guards near Windsor Castle and managed to spend the night at Victoria Barracks after reportedly trying to blag a dinner on the house at a pub.
But despite soldiers being fooled, a savvy pub landlord saw straight through the fake persona when he tried to nab a free meal, reports The Telegraph.
He told the boss at The Prince Harry pub in Windsor that he was a pal of the Duke of Sussex from the US – but was told to jog on.
The landlord told the outlet the imposter had been hanging around the area for a few days ahead of the barracks incident.
He said the man came in last Monday with a collar on, claiming to be a priest as he tucked into a fish and chip dinner, washed down with two cups of two.
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The landlord told the outlet: “He said ‘Prince Harry is a friend of mine and when I was here last year in 2021, I had to go back to the States to sort stuff out, and Prince Harry and Princess Markle said whenever I was in Windsor, I could come into The Prince Harry pub and have lunch and they’ll sort it out’.
“Needless to say, I just said ‘no’. I knew it was a con, so I wasn’t that interested.”
He said when he saw news of the major security blunder, he “just started laughing”.
“I think he was just out to see what he could get,” he added.
The following day, he turned up at the gates claiming to be a priest and a friend of the padre to the Coldstream Guards there.
The Celeb Report exclusively revealed how the fake was not rumbled even after telling officers he had trained as an ejector seat test pilot — and had received transplants of internal organs resistant to G-forces.
He also bragged of having received a medal for bravery in the Iraq War.
Astonishingly, soldiers had allowed him in to Victoria Barracks — yards from Windsor Castle — without showing any ID or credentials.
The intruder spun more tall tales as he spent the night in the officers’ mess.
But while suspicions grew, he was still given a bed for the night last Tuesday.
Sources said the alarm was finally raised next morning after he had eaten breakfast.
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Cops escorted him from the premises a couple of hours before the Queen — who had spent Easter at Sandringham — returned to Windsor.
The Ministry of Defence has launched an urgent investigation into the security breach ahead of The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee next month.
