Secret files released by British authorities reveal a former policeman threatened to behead the king and take his place on the throne in the 1930s.

Ex-police inspector Anthony Hall claimed to be a relative of King Henry VIII. He conducted a "quarrelsome and scandalous" campaign against George V.

Hall wrote in a letter to the king, "I claim the crown... You have no connection with the British royal family. You are an outsider. Therefore, leave the country."

Officials dismissed Hall's claims as "mere ravings." Nevertheless, his actions resulted in numerous letters between police, government and Buckingham palace.

The documents were released for the first time by the National Archives. They reveal George V wanted Hall to be arrested.

The king's private secretary Sir Clive Wigram wrote in a letter to the Home Office, "His Majesty quite agrees that a stop should be put to his effusions." Hall said at one public meeting that he wanted to be the first policeman to "chop off the monarch's head."