‘Not bloody likely’ – Inside the night Princess Anne fought off a gunman

Fifty years after one of the most audacious attacks on the Royal Family, Ian Ball – the man who tried to kidnap Princess Anne – walks free and insists he is innocent.

It was a quiet March evening in 1974 when Princess Anne, then just 23, was being driven back to Buckingham Palace from a charity event. Sitting beside her in the back seat of a Royal limousine was her husband, Captain Mark Phillips. Just ahead lay the familiar stretch of The Mall, lit by amber streetlamps and framed by the grandeur of London’s historic heart.

Then came the screech of tyres.

A white Ford Escort swerved in front of the royal vehicle and brought it to a sudden halt. From the other car emerged a young man with a pistol. Within seconds, gunfire shattered the calm. The assailant, later identified as Ian Ball, fired indiscriminately at those who stood in his way. What unfolded was one of the most daring – and baffling -crimes in modern British royal history.

A Plan to Kidnap a Princess

Ball, then 26, had spent months planning to kidnap Princess Anne and hold her for ransom. His demand: £2 million, to be distributed to the National Health Service. His plan was elaborate. His means – two handguns and a rented car – less so.

When Ball opened fire, Anne’s personal protection officer, Inspector James Beaton, leapt from the vehicle in an effort to shield Her Royal Highness. His own weapon jammed. Ball shot him almost immediately.

The royal chauffeur, Alex Callender, also tried to intervene and was wounded. So too was Brian McConnell, a nearby journalist who had stepped in to help. All were shot at close range by Ball.

Ball then approached the back of the car and attempted to drag Anne out. “Come with me for a day or two,” he demanded.

Her response would become iconic.

“Not bloody likely,” she snapped.

Anne, calm under pressure, reportedly considered striking Ball. She eventually exited the vehicle with her lady-in-waiting, Rowena Brassey, under duress – but not with submission. Moments later, fate intervened.

The Pedestrians Who Fought Back

A passing pedestrian, Ron Russell, witnessed the struggle and took decisive action. A former heavyweight boxer, Russell punched Ball in the back of the head, knocking him off balance and giving Anne a chance to move away from danger.

At the same moment, Police Constable Michael Hills happened upon the scene. He was shot too—but not before radioing for backup. Detective Constable Peter Edmonds also arrived by chance, chased Ball through St James’s Park, and single-handedly made the arrest.

Miraculously, despite the flurry of gunfire, all those injured survived. The bravery shown that night led to an unprecedented number of gallantry awards: Inspector Beaton received the George Cross; PC Hills and Ron Russell the George Medal; Mr Callender, Mr McConnell and DC Edmonds were awarded the Queen’s Gallantry Medal.

A Life Behind Locked Doors

Ball pleaded guilty to attempted murder and attempted kidnap. He was declared mentally ill and detained indefinitely under the Mental Health Act. For decades, he was held at Broadmoor Hospital – a high-security psychiatric facility that has housed some of Britain’s most dangerous criminals.

Now aged 77, Ball was quietly released in 2019 under restricted conditions. He now lives in the community on probation, subject to recall if his mental state deteriorates. His release was not widely publicised.

In a rare interview this year, Ball has claimed he was never a threat. He now insists he was “sane” and believed the gunpowder had been removed from his bullets. “I didn’t scare her,” he said of Princess Anne. “I was more scared than she was.”

Ball has also self-published a book titled To Kidnap a Princess, part autobiography, part reinterpretation of the events that night.

The Aftermath

Princess Anne’s unflinching composure throughout the ordeal only strengthened her already growing reputation for resilience and duty. She has never spoken publicly at length about the incident, but those who were there remember her as cool-headed, sharp-tongued, and unshakably brave.

At the time, her father, the late Duke of Edinburgh, joked that had Ball succeeded in abducting his daughter, “she would have given him a hell of a time in captivity.”

Half a century later, Ball’s claims of innocence offer little comfort to those who remember that harrowing night. For many, the scars – though physical and emotional – are reminders not just of a shocking crime, but of the ordinary people who stood between a princess and a bullet.