An anti-royal fantasist raised a gun in the crowd at the Trooping the Colour in 1981 and caused mass panic as he shot six times at the Queen who was uninjured.
An image shows 17-year-old Marcus Sarjeant with his gun raised and pointed at the Queen who was unscathed after the incident and went on to celebrate her 70th Jubilee over the bank holiday weekend.
But the events at the Trooping the Colour in 1981, which saw the Queen riding on a horse during the parade down The Mall, could have a changed the course of history forever, reported the Daily Star.
The heavily-guarded event, took a dark turn when Sarjeant suddenly fired six gun shots at the Queen.
Thankfully, she was unharmed and he was apprehended before being sentenced to five years in prison under the 1848 Treason Act.
An image of the youngster, described as a shy loner “haunted by failure”, was chillingly taken by American tourist Georg P. Uebel from right behind Sarjeant as he took the shots.
Inspired to attempt the assassination by attempts on the lives of former US presidents Ronald Reagan and John F Kennedy, as well as John Lennon and the Pope, he can clearly be seen pointing his gun right at her.
It later came out in court that Sarjeant had written a chilling letter to Buckingham Palace telling of his intentions just three days before the event.
He wrote: “Your Majesty. Don't go to the Trooping the Colour ceremony because there is an assassin set up to kill you, waiting just outside the Palace.”
The letter arrived to the Palace three days after the event, on June 16.
Sarjeant's past played a role in the shock events.
Born just outside of Folkestone, he joined the Air Training Corps in 1978, before enlisting in the Royal Marines.
But he only stayed there for three months after claiming he was bullied by officers.
He then joined the army and quit after just two days, before looking for a job in the police and fire services for short periods.
In 1980, he joined the anti-royalist movement, and subsequently bought two Colt Python imitation revolvers for £66.90 in the post, a court heard after the attempted assassination attempt failed.
He was unable to get a real gun, so bought two toy guns that made realistic noises which could shoot real bullets – and the intent of what he wanted to do was enough for the court to sentence him.
As he was seized, Sarjeant told a Scots Guard: "I wanted to be famous. I wanted to be a somebody."
And in his own diary, he admitted his intentions: “I am going to stun and mystify the world. I will become the most famous teenager in the world.”
Sarjeant spent three years at HMP Grendon Underwood, and was released in October 1984, aged 20.
He changed his name and began a new life, but wrote to the Queen to apologise.
No reply was received, and the current whereabouts of the now 58-year-old are unknown to the general public.
