Fathers 4 Justice sparked an alert at Buckingham Palace

Robert Stansfield is the second reporter within a month to be caught trying, which suggests the new royal security arrangements are more robust than before.

So it could be a long time before anyone repeats the feat of Michael Fagan by getting into the Queen's bedroom.

Stansfield was detained after a job interview for the Royal Household, and later released on bail.

The Daily Mirror said it was an attempt to "test the robustness of current procedures for staff recruitment" following the paper's spectacular scoop in 2003 (see below).

News of the World reporter Bethany Usher was arrested at Buckingham Palace on suspicion of falsifying details on a job application. She and another man were released on police bail.

The paper described it as a "legitimate journalistic exercise".

Sun journalists drove a van carrying a fake bomb into Windsor Castle's grounds, days before the wedding of Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles.

A reporter and a photographer said they had no security passes, no pre-arranged delivery time, a fake delivery note and a brown box marked "bomb".

Scotland Yard said the incident raised serious concerns.

A Sunday Times journalist escaped from the Queen's official Scottish residence after being stopped by staff.

The man posed first as a tourist and then as a workman at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh, three days before a visit by Prince Charles.

A Fathers 4 Justice campaigner dressed as Batman staged a protest on the Buckingham Palace balcony.

Jason Hatch, from Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, stood on a ledge near the main balcony and unfurled a banner.

The Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir John Stevens said if officers at the scene had judged the intruder a terrorist he would have been shot.

Michael Hammond conned his way into Windsor Castle by pretending to be a well-known senior police officer.

He said he was accompanying friends of the princes who did not wish to use the main entrance, but he was arrested after officers caught him on CCTV in the castle grounds, on his mobile phone pretending to be the detective.

He was jailed for four-and-a-half years for impersonating a police officer and other offences.

A 27-year-old man was arrested in the grounds of Buckingham Palace after climbing a wall.

Police said they had responded to an alert triggered by an alarm system within the palace grounds.

Daily Mirror reporter Ryan Parry lifted the lid on life in the Palace after spending two months working as a royal footman.

Parry revealed royal secrets

Despite unprecedented security for the visit of US President George Bush, Parry used a fake reference to get a job.

He took photos of the Queen's breakfast table, the swimming pool complex and the kitchens.

And he divulged details of the Queen's taste in television, including EastEnders, The Bill, Kirsty's Home Videos and videoed re-runs of the racing.

Comedian Aaron Barschak gatecrashed Prince William's 21st birthday at Windsor Castle.

Dressed as Osama Bin Laden, he wandered around the grounds for an hour before finding the main party, going onstage and delivering his stand-up routine to guests.

A drunken reveller entered St James' Palace late at night and reportedly knocked on Princess Anne's door, asking for directions to Victoria station.

He was arrested before anyone answered. Police launched an inquiry into how he got so far without being stopped by security.

Who could forget Michael Fagan's audacity in getting into the Queen's bedroom in Buckingham Palace in 1982?

OTHER PALACE SCARES 1982 - Michael Fagan enters Queen's bedroom 1989 - Mentally-ill Michael Crook walks past armed guards 1990 - Two separate break-ins 1991 - Man gets within yards of Queen's private apartments 1992 - Kevin McMahon arrested inside grounds twice in a week 1994 - Naked paraglider lands on palace roof 1995 - Student John Gillard rams gates with car 1997 - Absconded mental health patient wanders grounds

Barefooted and wearing a t-shirt, the unemployed father-of-four shinned up a drainpipe, evaded electronic alarms and police guards, then disturbed the Queen.

They spoke for 10 minutes before the Queen raised the alarm, when Mr Fagan asked her to get him a cigarette. He was not charged with trespassing because it was then only a civil offence.

In 1989, Michael Crook walked past palace guards and tried to talk to the Queen near the stables.