The gunman who attempted to kidnap the Princess Royal in 1974 has claimed he is innocent nearly six years after his release from a secure hospital, according to a report.
Ian Ball tried to abduct Anne and her then-husband Captain Mark Phillips as they were driven along The Mall to Buckingham Palace on 20 March 1974.
The princess kept her cool and when Ball, then 26, told her to “come with me for a day or two” because he wanted £2m, she replied “not bloody likely, and I haven’t got £2m”.
The Daily Mail reported that Ball was released from Broadmoor Hospital on probation in 2019 and has subsequently self-published an autobiographical novel called To Kidnap A Princess.
In an interview with the newspaper, Ball, now 77, said: “I’m an innocent, sane man because I had good reason to believe the gunpowder had been taken out of the bullets and another girl had been substituted for Princess Anne.”
Discussing Anne, Ball said: “She wasn’t bothered on the night. I didn’t scare her. I was more scared than she was.”
The description of Ball’s book on Amazon reads that it “opens with the dramatic and thrilling attempted kidnapping of Princess Anne” and details the author’s “eventful and turbulent 45-year stay in Rampton and Broadmoor criminal lunatic asylums”.
It adds: “The book is an emotive read and it will make you laugh, make you cry, shock you even, but ultimately it will leave you in wonder at the indomitability of the human spirit.”
Ball pleaded guilty at the Old Bailey in May 1974 to charges of attempted murder and attempted kidnap and was detained without time limit under the Mental Health Act.
A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: “Restricted patients can be recalled back to hospital if their mental health deteriorates to such a level that the risk they pose becomes unmanageable in the community.”
Anne, who was 23 at the time of the attempted kidnapping, later said she was “furious at this man who was having a tug of war with me” and for ripping her favourite blue velvet dress.
Anne’s father, Prince Philip, later quipped of the attempted kidnapping: “If the man had succeeded in abducting Anne, she would have given him a hell of a time in captivity.”
Ball had blocked the princess’s car with his own as it drove along the Mall and fired a series of shots through the rear window as he tried to kidnap her.
The princess and Captain Phillips were unhurt during the late-night ambush but Anne’s bodyguard, chauffeur, a police constable and a journalist were all shot by Ball, who was armed with two revolvers.
Anne’s bodyguard, former Metropolitan Police inspector Jim Beaton, was awarded the George Cross after being shot three times as he protected Anne.
Passer-by, former heavyweight boxer Ronnie Russell punched Ball twice in the head as he tried to kidnap the princess.
For his bravery Mr Russell was awarded the George Medal by Queen Elizabeth II, who told him: “The medal is from the Queen, but I want to thank you as Anne’s mother.”
Discussing the incident, Mr Russell previously said Ball was trying to drag Anne from her car while her husband was pulling her back.
“She was very, very together, telling him, ‘Just go away and don’t be such a silly man’,” he said.
“He stood there glaring at me with the gun and I hit him. I hit him as hard as I could – if he had been a tree he would have fallen over – and he was flat on the floor face down.”
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