People walk past a set of boarded-up gates at Buckingham Palace in London on March 10, 2024, after a car crashed into them. JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES

A man crashed his car into the gates of Buckingham Palace over the weekend, Metropolitan Police said on Sunday.

The man, who was not publicly identified, crashed into the gates of the royal residence in central London around 2:30 a.m. local time on Saturday, officials said. He was taken to the hospital after the incident.

Police said the man was charged with suspicion of criminal damage. Officials did not immediately release the man's name.

"Enquiries are ongoing to establish the circumstances," Metropolitan Police said.

BBC reported that the crash was not being treated as terror-related. Buckingham Palace said no member of the royal family was at the residence at the time of the crash, Reuters reported.

Images from the scene on Sunday showed the gate covered in wooden boards.

Buckingham Palace has been the official London residence of the United Kingdom's sovereigns since 1837, according to the Royal Family. Today it serves as the administrative headquarters of the monarch.

Last year, just four days before the coronation of King Charles III, a man was detained outside Buckingham Palace after he threw a number of items, including what were believed to be shotgun cartridges, into the Palace grounds, London's Metropolitan Police said.

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