Attempted Kidnapping of Princess Anne: Arrest of Suspect Ian Ball and Additional Details

Princess Anne is famously recognized as the most industrious royal, but she also demonstrated remarkable bravery during a kidnapping attempt in 1974.

“I kept insisting I didn’t want to exit the car, and I was not going to get out,” Anne reportedly told law enforcement, as noted by Smithsonian Magazine. She described her interaction with the would-be kidnapper as “rather irritating.”

The assailant, Ian Ball, was apprehended after the incident. He admitted guilt to charges of attempted murder and kidnapping and received a life sentence in a mental health institution. He is currently held at Broadmoor Hospital, a high-security psychiatric facility. However, Ball continues to insist he was not involved.

“I’m an innocent, sane man because I had good reason to believe the gunpowder had been removed from the bullets and another girl had been substituted for Princess Anne,” he stated to the Daily Mail in August 2025.

Continue scrolling to revisit the events surrounding Anne’s attempted kidnapping:

Was Princess Anne Kidnapped?

On the night of March 20, 1974, Anne and her then-husband, Mark Phillips, were returning to Buckingham Palace after a charity event when a Ford Escort cut in front of their vehicle, forcing a stop.

The driver of the Escort, Ball, leapt from the car and started firing shots from a pistol. After Ball shot Anne’s chauffeur, Alex Callender, and Brian McConnell, a nearby Daily Mail journalist who attempted to intervene, he demanded the princess exit the vehicle. Anne notably replied, “[Not] bloody likely.”

Who Is James Beaton?

Beaton served as Anne’s personal police officer at the time of the incident. He was shot three times during the confrontation.

“He went bang bang, and he shot me in the chest,” Beaton recounted in a March 2024 statement to the BBC. “I attempted to return fire, but I missed the first shot and then my gun jammed.”

While trying to shield the princess, Beaton was also wounded in the hand and abdomen.

“I still have a bullet lodged in my hand,” the now-retired inspector shared with the BBC.

Who Else Was on the Scene?

Police Constable Michael Hills, who was patrolling in the vicinity during the attack, was the first officer to arrive. Ball shot him in the stomach, but Hills managed to call for reinforcements before collapsing.

Former boxer Ron Russell happened to be in the area and witnessed Hills being shot.

“I pulled over and heard a series of bangs, thinking it was just general mayhem. But when I saw Ball shoot a policeman, I thought, ‘That’s outrageous, he needs to be stopped,’” Russell recounted to the Eastern Daily Press in 2006.

Following that, Russell struck Ball once on the back of the head and once directly on the chin, bringing him down as police arrived.

What Happened to Ian Ball?

Following the kidnapping attempt, police discovered two pairs of handcuffs and a ransom letter directed to Queen Elizabeth II in Ball’s rental car. He told the Daily Mail in August 2025 that the kidnapping was intended as “a hoax.” Ball also claimed he was “more frightened than she was.”

As reported by The Guardian, Ball’s plan involved holding Anne for a ransom of £3 million, which he intended to donate to the National Health Service for psychiatric patient care. During a 1980 appearance on the British talk show Parkinson, Anne described being “scrupulously polite” to Ball until he tore her dress.

“I figured it would be unwise to be too rude at that moment,” she recounted. “When the back of my dress tore, that was his most perilous moment. I lost my temper then.”

What Happened After the Kidnapping Attempt?

Beaton, Hills, Callendar, and McConnell were all hospitalized post-incident and successfully recovered. In recognition of Beaton’s bravery in defending Anne, the queen awarded him the George Cross, which honors acts of extreme courage by civilians and military personnel outside of direct enemy action.

Hills and Russell received the George Medal, while Callender and McConnell were honored with the Queen’s Gallantry Medal.

Shortly after the attack, Anne visited Beaton in the hospital.

“When Princess Anne came to see me, it was a bit humorous because the staff urged, ‘You need to cover up your chest and wounds,’” Beaton shared with the BBC in March 2024. “I said, ‘Oh, come on.’ We just exchanged pleasantries, relieved that we were all still alive and well.”