Princess Anne’s rescuer, Ronnie Russell, has finally spoken up on her kidnapper Ian Ball’s release.
Speaking to the Daily Mail this week, Ronnie “The Geezer” Russell, who bravely saved the Princess Royal from an attempted kidnap back in 1974, broke silence on the kidnapper’s quiet release from Broadmoor Hospital.
Reacting to Ian’s discharge, the former boxer said, “I can’t believe Ball’s been released, it’s ridiculous. I should have hit him a bit harder. Am I worried he might come and find me? Let’s go further - give him my address, and I’ll go one better this time.”
Recently, Ian Ball claimed that he is “innocent” and “was more scared” than Princess Anne, adding that he was attempting to kidnap another girl and mistakenly substituted her for the King Charles’s sister.
“He’s saying now ‘None of it ever happened, there was supposed to be no gunpowder in the bullets’? It’s absolutely impossible, because it did happen. He didn’t come out with all that when he was sentenced at the Old Bailey - I was there, watching him plead guilty. He should be recalled to Broadmoor,” Ronnie added.
Ronnie went on to share that he tried to help Anne escape, but Ian approached with a gun and her husband Mark pulled her back in, making the kidnapper point gun at him, shouting, “Come on Anne, you’ve got to come.”
“That’s when I decided it was going to be me, or him. I had to hit him first, and harder. I was quite prepared to sacrifice myself for a member of the Royal Family,” Ronnie proudly stated.
Princess Anne’s kidnapping incident:
In March 1974, the then-23-year-old Princess Anne became a target of a kidnapping attempt while on her way back to Buckingham Palace with her former husband, Captain Mark Phillips.
Armed with a gun, Ian Ball blocked the Princess Royal’s vehicle and shot several people, including her bodyguard Jim Beaton, and chauffeur, before demanding Anne to leave the car.
However, King Charles’s sister refused him, saying, “Not bloody likely.”
The situation was settled down when former boxer Ronnie Russell, who was passing by the scene, intervened and punched Ian, allowing Anne to be escorted safely away.
Moments later, police constable Michael Hills and detective Peter Edmonds arrived at the location and arrested the kidnapper, following which he pleaded guilty to attempted murder and kidnapping and was detained in psychiatric hospital.
