Princess Anne once escaped an attempted kidnap attempt where four people were seriously wounded.
On March 20th, 1974, Princess Anne was nearly kidnapped when an armed man attacked the royals car on The Mall outside Buckingham Palace.
This remains the closest anyone has got, in modern times, to abducting one of the British Royal Family.
In Charles, Prince of Wales, by Anthony Holden, it’s revealed that Prince Charles heard of the incident during a tour of New Zealand.
The then 23 year-old princess had just attended a charity event in Pall Mall when a man by the name of Ian Ball brought the royal to a holt with his Ford Escort.
As royal police protection officer James Beaton and driver Alex Callender got out of the limousine, Ball began to shoot.
Beaton’s own weapon jammed and he was shot three times by the assailant.
Callender was also shot while trying to disarm Ball, as was passing tabloid journalist Brian McConnell, who also tried to intervene.
It was then that Ball got into the limousine and told Princess Anne to get out.
Princess Anne said: “He opened the door, and we had a sort of discussion about where or where not we were going to go.”
“He said I had to go with him, can’t remember why,” she added.
“I said I didn’t think I wanted to go.
“I was scrupulously polite because I thought it’s silly to be too rude or that sort of thing.
Anne eventually conceded to Ball’s demands but as he followed her out of the car he was struck by former boxer Ron Russell, who happened to be passing.
As Russell led Anne away from the scene, another policeman, PC Michael Hills, tried to intervene. He too was shot by Ball, though not before calling for back-up.
Peter Edmonds, a Detective Constable, was next on the scene. Edmonds was able to disarm the kidnapper.
After Anne’s lucky escape, the royal family’s security was raised to ensure such a risk could never occur again.
