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Explosion Reported Outside Buckingham Palace Ahead Of Charles’ Coronation

(Photo by JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP via Getty Images)

Dylan Housman Deputy News Editor
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A controlled explosion was carried out and a man was arrested outside Buckingham Palace on Tuesday, British authorities said.

A man was arrested for throwing what were believed to be shotgun cartridges onto palace grounds at around 7:00 p.m. local time, police said. A controlled explosion was carried out after the man was detained due to his possession of a suspicious bag, according to police.

There were no reports of injuries or shots fired, Chief Superintendent Joseph McDonald said.

King Charles III is set to be crowned on Saturday in a historic ceremony following the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, in September. It is unclear if the attack thwarted on Tuesday was in any way connected to the coronation of the new monarch, or what may have been in the suspicious bag the man was carrying with him. (RELATED: King Charles Reportedly Had An Entourage For His Teddy Bear – In His Adult Years)

Despite being invited, President Joe Biden will keep with historical presidential precedent and not attend the coronation, which is highly anticipated and will see a number of high-profile attendees. In his stead, First Lady Jill Biden is set to lead the American delegation that will attend the event. No American president has ever attended a coronation of the British monarch, although Biden did become the first U.S. president last year to attend a British state funeral following the death of Queen Elizabeth II.