Princess Anne kidnap attempt – from the archive, 23 May 1974

23 May 1974: Peter Cole on the trial of the first person to attempt to kidnap a member of the royal family

The first man ever to attempt to kidnap a member of the Royal Family, Ian Ball, was yesterday in the Hampton special hospital after the Lord Chief Justice, Lord Widgery, had made an order under the Mental Health Act. He was sent to the hospital for an unlimited length of time.

Mr Ball forced a car carrying Princess Anne and Captain Mark Phillips to stop in the Mall, London, on March 20 by driving his own car in front of it. He was carrying two guns, and in the skirmish which followed he shot and wounded two policemen and two civilians.