PRINCESS Anne endured a harrowing experience when a crazed gunman attempted to kidnap the royal back in 1974.
Her rescuer was Ronnie Russell who rushed to help the princess from attacker Ian Ball and was awarded the George Medal for his unwavering bravery but later sold the prestigious piece for £50,000.
Princess Anne was described as being ‘very together’ despite the life-threatening situation
When was the Princess Anne kidnapping attempt?
Princess Anne was being driven along The Mall, central London, on March 20, 1974, when the brazen attack was carried out.
The Celeb Report reported the following day: “A gunman, with pistol blazing, tried to kidnap Princess Anne near Buckingham Palace.
“He used a Ford Escort to force an official car carrying Anne and Captain Mark Phillips into the side of the road.
“Then he pumped six shots into the royal Austin car.”
The gunman, Ian Ball, had a “crazy plot” to “flee with Anne shackled to his leg” as part of his bid to demand a £3million ransom from the Queen, The Celeb Report later reported.
The scene in The Mall minutes after the gunman struck attempting to kidnap Princess Anne, who was travelling in the Royal Austin limousine with Captain Mark Phillips and her lady in waiting. On the right is the attacker’s white Ford Escort which pulled up sharply in front of the royal limousine
How old was she when Ian Ball tried to kidnap her?
Princess Anne was only 23 years old when hero Russell came to her aid.
She had been returning to Buckingham Palace with her first husband, Captain Mark Phillips, after the couple had attended a charity event.
They were not injured during the late-night attack, and Russell recalls Ball trying to drag Princess Anne from her car while her new husband was pulling her back.
“She was very, very together, telling him, ‘Just go away and don’t be such a silly man’,” the ex-boxer said.
Brave: former heavyweight boxer Ronnie Russell, 17 stone and 6ft 2in tall, punched Ian Ball in the head
How did Ronnie Russell help save her?
Russell, then aged 28, punched Ian Ball twice in the head as he tried to kidnap the princess at gunpoint in Pall Mall.
He got out of his car to intervene when he saw the late night incident unfolding.
Now living in Bristol, Russell said he remembered the incident clearly.
Princess Anne visiting her bodyguard, Inspector James Beaton, at Westminster Hospital in London where he is recovering from gunshot wounds sustained during the attempt to kidnap her
He recalled: “It was very fast-moving but it is as clear to me now as it was the day it happened.
“I punched him twice. The first time was when I got out of my vehicle and I thought it was a road rage incident.”
Russell was a 6ft 2in, 17-stone boxer who was then training at a club in East London, The Times reported.
He had been driving home to Kent when he spotted the drama unfolding, and immediately went to the Princess’s aid.
This pic shows the location where the attempted kidnap of Princess Anne took place in March 1974
Russell used his fists to bash Ball, was fired upon, and then acted as her human shield.
He added: “I honestly thought that I was going to die. But I didn’t care.
“I still believe that the life of a member of the Royal Family is much more important than mine.
“I just stood rigid and braced myself, waiting for the shot I expected to come and hit me in the back.”
Later, as a grateful Queen pinned the George Medal on him at Buckingham Palace, she said to Russell: “The medal is from the Queen, but I want to thank you as Anne’s mother.”
Ian Ball, who pleaded guilty to attempting to kidnap Princess Anne at gunpoint in The Mall, London
Was anyone shot by Ian Ball?
Four men were wounded when crazed Ian Ball tried to carry out the first ever attempt to kidnap a member of the Royal Family.
Ball shot the Princess’s chauffeur, minder, a cop and a passing journalist, Brian McConnell, as he tried to drag Princess Anne from the royal car before Russell’s intervention.
Det Con David Bowen holds a .22 Astra gun of Spanish make. On the table are handcuffs, two pairs of which are locked together to provide leg shackles, keys for the handcuffs, six spent rounds, three live rounds and 39 spares for the .22, a .38 Astra with five spent rounds and 19 spares, and gloves wore by Ball during the kidnap attempt
The former boxer explained: “He shot (the policeman) and I went to hit him around the back of the head, and he turned and shot at me and it went through the windscreen of a taxi.
“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.”
Newsman McConnell had jumped out of his taxi and demanded the gunman handed over his weapon, but was shot in the chest.
Ball was later sent to a psychiatric hospital by an Old Bailey judge.
The George Medal could fetch up to £20,000 at auction to help the former boxer, who is in poor health
Why did Ronnie Russell sell his medals?
Ronnie sold his medals in 2020 to a private collector receiving £50,000 – more than double its estimate.
He had said at the time that he was “absolutely blown away” by the price which he wants to use to help pay for his funeral.
Unfortunately the hero has been suffering a number of health blows and stated the extra cash has allowed him fresh opportunities to do.
Alongside receiving the medals for his bravery, Russell stated that the Queen paid off his house in Strood, Kent, after the incident.
The Celeb Report’s take on the foiled plot
Russell told the Daily Mirror: “They asked if I had a mortgage and I said, ‘Yes, yes, why?’
“They said, ‘Well we are really telling you this a bit early but the Queen is going to pay off your mortgage as a gift for what you have done.’
“I thought that was wonderful. I was actually close to repossession at the time. They were going to repossess my home.”
The Mirror quoted Buckingham Palace as saying the Queen’s gift would have come from her private funds.
Russell’s medal will be auctioned at Dix Noonan Webb in London next month, and is expected to fetch between £15,000 and £20,000.
