Marcus Simon Sarjeant (born 1963 or 1964) is a British man who fired six blank shots near Queen Elizabeth II as she rode down The Mall to the Trooping the Colour ceremony in London in 1981.
After leaving school in May 1980 with seven CSE passes, Sarjeant applied to join the Royal Marines but left after three months, saying that officers bullied him.
[2] After failed applications to join the police and the fire brigade, he worked at a zoo and at an arts centre in Folkestone.
In the run-up to the annual Trooping the Colour ceremony, Sarjeant sent letters to two magazines, one of which included a picture of him with his father's gun.
[2] On 13 June 1981, Sarjeant joined the crowds for Trooping the Colour, finding a spot near the junction between The Mall and Horseguards Road.
When the Queen came past riding her 19-year-old horse Burmese, Sarjeant quickly fired six blanks from his starting pistol.
A friend said that at the time of John Hinckley Jr.'s attempt on the life of Reagan, Sarjeant had said "I would like to be the first one to take a pot shot at the Queen".