Queen Elizabeth II Photo:VCG

The British army said it had launched an investigation after reports that a man who was pretending to be a priest spent a night at a barracks with soldiers tasked with protecting Queen Elizabeth II near her Windsor Castle home.

The Sun newspaper reported that the imposter was allowed onto the barracks of the Coldstream Guards without showing any credentials or identifiable documents and later ate, drank and shared stories with soldiers.

"The army takes this breach of security extremely seriously and it will be thoroughly investigated as a matter of priority," a Ministry of Defence spokesperson said. "This incident is now part of an ongoing investigation and would be therefore inappropriate to comment further at this time."

The Sun said the man had claimed to be a priest and told officers he was a friend of a member of the battalion's chaplain.