A man has died after being found on fire outside Kensington Palace in the early hours of Tuesday morning.
Police were called to the London home of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge after receiving reports that a man was behaving suspiciously. On arrival officers found a man on fire.
The London ambulance service and the London fire brigade were called to the scene and the man was pronounced dead at 3.42am. It is understood that the incident is not being treated as suspicious and no one else is thought to have been involved.
A Met police spokesman said the force received a call from a central London hospital just after midnight on Tuesday after a man in its care had failed to return.
“Police carried out inquiries to trace this missing man at his home address and two associated addresses but the man, aged in his forties, was not present,” the spokesman said. “Subsequently, police in Kensington and Chelsea were called to an area near the locked parks of Kensington Palace at 3.06am following reports of a man behaving suspiciously.
“Officers attended and found a man, believed to be aged in his forties, ablaze. Inquiries are ongoing. This incident is not being treated as terrorist-related.”
A spokesman for the royal family said the duke and duchess were not at the palace on Monday night. They are believed to have been in Norfolk at the time of the incident.