Roderick McLean attempted to assassinate Queen Victoria

Victoria of the United Kingdom

Victoria was the monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death. From 1 May 1876, she used the additional title of Empress of India....

 of The United Kingdom on March 2, 1882 at Windsor

Windsor, Berkshire

Windsor is an affluent suburban town and unparished area in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in Berkshire, England. It is widely known as the site of Windsor Castle, one of the official residences of the British Royal Family....

 with a pistol. This was the last of eight attempts over a period of forty years to kill or assault Victoria. McLean's motive was purportedly a curt reply to poetry

Poetry

Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...

 of his mailed to the Queen.

Tried for high treason that April 20, the jury after five minutes' deliberation found the Scotsman McLean "not guilty, but insane" and he lived out his remaining days in Broadmoor Asylum

Broadmoor Hospital

Broadmoor Hospital is a high-security psychiatric hospital at Crowthorne in the Borough of Bracknell Forest in Berkshire, England. It is the best known of the three high-security psychiatric hospitals in England, the other two being Ashworth and Rampton...

. The verdict prompted the Queen to ask for a change in English law so that those implicated in cases with similar outcomes would be considered as "guilty, but insane."

A poem was later written about McLean's attempt on the Queen's life by William Topaz McGonagall, considered by some the worst poet in the English language.