Royal Family Category
The Royal Family, the House of Windsor, in the news and on a horse
Virginia Roberts sex slave: Bill Clinton’s ‘Lolita Express’ and the Dalai Lama saves Prince Andrew
The story of Prince Andrew and Virginia Roberts, the womn who claims she had sex with him him when she was Jeffrey Epstein’s underage sex slave, has slipped down the news cycle.
Randy Andy seems to have brushed the scare off. Indeed, the London Gazette says Andrew will be made a vice-admiral in the Royal Navy when he turns 55 next week. (And, no, that’s not a pun.)
Over in the Daily Mail, one of Andrew’s former lovers, Koo ‘Starkers’ Stark, is speaking in his defence. The American-born actress was 26 when she dated the Duke of York after his return from the Falklands War in 1982. They dated er for 18 months. The Duke married Sarah Ferguson in 1986. She says:
“I know too much about the media and the law courts to allow the disgrace of an innocent man. That is why I have decided to reveal some details of my relationship with Andrew. My view is clear: I believe him to be a good man and I believe I can help rebut, with authority, the allegations against him. Prince Andrew is a dear friend and godfather to my daughter. I’ve only known him to be honourable and honest, with Christian values. I couldn’t shrug off Virginia Roberts’ assassination of his character any more than he has been able to. He was being accused of the very worst kind of behaviour. The stain on his reputation is spilling across his life like blood from a new wound.”
…my experience of being with Andrew on our first date in Bewicks informed me of the effect he has on any gathering, be it a restaurant, a club or a Royal court. Conversation drops. Body language changes. There is a bow wave of deference. But Ms Roberts will have us believe this extraordinary hour in Prince Andrew’s life passed unchronicled.
Well, yeah. Do we know everything he does? And, in any case, men of money power cannot be abusers:
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Posted: 15th, February 2015 | In: Reviews, Royal Family | Comment
Daily Express and Daily Mail twist Prince Charles words into an attack on British Muslims
The media heard Prince Charles’ words on race relations. Discussing the radicalisation of young Britons, Prince Charles told BBC radio:
“Well, of course, this is one of the greatest worries, I think, and the extent to which this is happening is the alarming part. And particularly in a country like ours where you know the values we hold dear. You think that the people who have come here, [are] born here, go to school here, would imbibe those values and outlooks…
“Christianity was founded in the Middle East which we often forget. From a morale point I hope it showed they were not forgotten. I wish I could do more. Many of us do wish we could do more. I think what doesn’t bear thinking about is people of one faith, a believer, could kill another believer. That’s the totally bewildering aspect in our day and age.”
The Daily Mail heard that, too, and told its readers:
Prince Charles risked provoking a new political and religious storm yesterday when he said Muslims living in the UK should follow British values.
Prince Charles last night called for a halt to the persecution of Christians by Islamic State and other militant Islamic groups, telling them bluntly: ‘We were in the Middle East before you.’
“No, I didn’t describe myself as a defender: I said I would rather be seen as ‘Defender of Faith’, all those years ago, because, as I tried to describe, I mind about the inclusion of other people’s faiths and their freedom to worship in this country. And it’s always seemed to me that, while at the same time being Defender of the Faith, you can also be protector of faiths. It was very interesting that 20 years or more after I mentioned this – which has been frequently misinterpreted – the Queen, in her Jubilee address to the faith leaders, said that as far as the role of the Church of England is concerned, it is not to defend Anglicanism to the exclusion of other religions. Instead, the Church has a duty to protect the free practice of all faiths in this country. I think in that sense she was confirming what I was really trying to say – perhaps not very well – all those years ago. And so I think you have to see it as both. You have to come from your own Christian standpoint – in the case I have as Defender of the Faith – and ensuring that other people’s faiths can also be practised.”
Posted: 9th, February 2015 | In: Reviews, Royal Family | Comment
Prince Andrew’s foot fetish orgy and an underage sex ‘slave’ star in The Jeffrey Epstein Mystery
Prince Andrew and Virgina Roberts share the Sun’s front page. It’s the story of sex and slavery.
It’s the story of “MY SEX WITH ANDY AND 8 GIRLS.” Wow! Prince Andrew had sex with “girls”?! Eight of them!??!
The story begins:
THE “slave” who claims she was forced to sleep with Prince Andrew said he once had sex with her and eight girls.
Roberts is the self-confessed ‘slave’ who fled her paedophile captor whilst on a massage learning course in Thailand.
Virginia Roberts, 31, said the orgy took place on his paedo pal Jeffrey Epstein’s private island.
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Posted: 22nd, January 2015 | In: Reviews, Royal Family | Comment
Sarah Ferguson name drops Imperial College to get Americans to swallow her crap
Sarah, Duchess of York, is on NBC’s the Today Show talking about herself. She tells viewers of her work as ambassador for the Institute of Global Health Improvement at Imperial College London.
If your first reaction is to wonder if that institute exists, know that it does. A quick search reveals that “The Institute of Global Health Innovation is working to improve the health of people and reduce health inequalities throughout the world.”
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Posted: 15th, January 2015 | In: Royal Family | Comment (1)
Prince Andrew sex scandal: Sarah Ferguson, prostitutes and what the sex slave’s lover saw
The Prince Andrew sex scandal continues to entertain.
The Sun leads with the story of Randy Andy and fragrant Virginia Roberts, who claims the prince shagged her when she was 17.
The age of consent in Florida is 18.
But the really grim news is that Sarah Ferguson is back!
Last seen allegedly pimping Prince Andrew out in a New of The World scoop (“FERGIE sells Andy for £500,000”), good old Sarah is her to keep her former husband’s stock high.
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Posted: 6th, January 2015 | In: Reviews, Royal Family | Comment (1)
Prince Andrew sex scandal: Sky Roberts, the Queen’s Virginia massage and Thailand calling
The story of Prince Andrew and Virginia Roberts, the woman who alleges he shagged her when she was underage, rumbles on.
Today Her Majesty the Queen is the star turn in the dock of public opinion.
Poor old Queeny, getting dragged into her feckless son’s mess. And it would be Randy Andy, wouldn’t it, the Prince Harry prototype, the spare-to-the-heir’s war veteran and shagger. If Pricne Charles were getting an ‘erotic massage’ from a teenager, as the fragrant Roberts alleges, he’d still be checking the oils for ethical sources and apologising to the grass for stealing its essentials. Prince Edward would have kept his vest, Y-fronts and brogues on.
So. It’s Andy.
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Posted: 5th, January 2015 | In: Reviews, Royal Family | Comments (2)
Prince Andrew sex scandal: chaste Virginia Roberts’ sex tape and the Bill Clinton beats Benghazi
The story of Prince Andrew and the allegedly underage “sex slave” Virginia Roberts is back in the news.
The front pages are full of lurid allegations against the Duke of York, formerly known as Randy Andy.
The story can be summed up simply. The BBC does a decent job:
Buckingham Palace has denied “any suggestion of impropriety with underage minors” by Prince Andrew, after he was named in US court papers. A woman named him in documents she filed in a Florida court over how prosecutors handled a case against financier Jeffrey Epstein.
The woman is 30-year-old Virginia Roberts. The story is not new.
She claims that between 1999 and 2002 she was forced by Epstein to have sex with the prince when she was a minor.
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Posted: 4th, January 2015 | In: Key Posts, Reviews, Royal Family | Comments (2)
Avoiding Christmas Holiday Headaches
Avoiding Christmas Holiday Headaches
We have this idea that Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year, but it doesn’t take long for the Xmas shopping and TV ads to weigh you down. And then you have to preheat the oven and manage a hectic Christmas Kitchen – as well as your guests. Or even if you escape the cooking duties, someone needs to play referee and calm the obligatory family bust up.
Let’s face it, Christmas isn’t all it’s cracked up to be and just when you’re ready to sleep off the drinks and roast turkey it’s time to count down the new year. While 18 million UK adults worry about how they will fund Christmas as the cost of living and financial pressures increase. However the holiday season doesn’t have to be a headache if you follow these simple guidelines.
Avoid the queues
Christmas shopping is enough to drain the festive spirit out of anyone – before holiday season even begins. Not only do you have to buy the gifts themselves but you always face that awkward moment when someone hands you a present and you have nothing in return.
You may not be able to please everyone this Christmas, but you can save yourself some seasonal stress by hitting the shops early. There’s nothing worse than leaving it all the last minute and having to wrestle the queues on Christmas eve. Better yet, you can start early and get your gifts online to save those cold winter shopping trips altogether.
Gear up on Black Friday and Cyber Monday
You can even save yourself a bundle if you get involved in the retail phenomenon called Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Borrowed from our friends in the States, these are the two biggest days on the shopping calendar. The concept is still fairly new over here, but you can bag yourself some early bargains on Friday 28 November and Monday 1 December.
Last year Amazon slashed prices on over 2,000 products and John Lewis took up to £200 off selected laptops and TVs. More UK retailers are getting involved in the action this year too – so be sure to make your Xmas budget go further with some holiday discounts.
Cut down the kitchen hours
When it comes to Christmas and Boxing Day nobody has it harder than the poor souls in the kitchen. But these days there’s no need to slave away over the festive season. Supermarkets offer up some stunning Christmas food to order – from Norfolk Black free range Turkey dishes to luxurious deserts.
You’ll be amazed by the quality of food available and – more importantly – it comes with less stress and more quality time to spend with the family. Of course you don’t have to give up on the kitchen entirely, but a helping hand means you can focus on enjoying your holidays.
Family affairs
Families can be a funny thing and it almost wouldn’t be Christmas without the odd argument. Full glasses and festive stress can be a toxic combination and there’s no hiding when the whole family gets together. Unresolved issues, different political views and previous holiday bust-ups can resurface in a flash. And we all have that one relative who specialises in upsetting everyone at the dinner table.
So try to sort out any running problems before the family meets up. Get in touch with any confrontational individuals early on and get them on board. Involve them in the build up and preparation on the day to make them feel a part of things. You never know, a peaceful day may become just as important to them as it is you – while they’ll have less time to top up on the Bucks Fizz.
Don’t forget to enjoy it!
The holiday season is supposed to be a joy for everyone – and that includes you! So don’t get so caught up in creating the perfect Christmas that you can’t enjoy it yourself. Plan ahead and get things moving early so you have plenty of time and no reason to panic. While it pays to pencil in some time to yourself so you can get away form it all – even if it’s just a quiet bath before everyone arrives.
Make a point of doing the things you want to do over the festive period as well – and don’t mind others if they don’t want join you. If you fancy a Christmas Day walk with the dog, go for it and welcome anyone who wants to join. Those who don’t can stay behind and everyone will have a better time for it. If everybody gets to do their thing over the holiday season and things are planned out carefully, there’s no reason you can’t make it through to the new year without the usual headaches. Except from the night before perhaps.
Posted: 23rd, December 2014 | In: Royal Family | Comment (1)
Kate Middleton was gagging for it in New York: up yours LeBron James
This week columnists have been earning their crust by talking about Kate Middleton, Duchess of Cambridge, who was on a money-raising mission to New York:
Louise Mensch in the Sun:
KATE MIDDLETON has taken over New York City – and just like Diana with Charles before her, NOBODY is looking at Prince William. But pity our poor princess. Like many pregnant women, she’s being treated as public property and expected to smile coyly if all and sundry poke and grab her without permission.
Much-loved Kate was the subject of snooty headlines going “Oooh-la-la — Hoity-Toity Royal Protocol” because she didn’t LOVE it when a basketball star not only hugged her but then casually slid his hand down the small of her back and grabbed her waist.
As she wrapped gifts for charity in a Harlem pit-stop, some woman rudely tapped her on the shoulder and said: “Keep wrapping.”
What, had she stopped? Is she a naughty schoolgirl you have to keep in line?…
It isn’t fawning to treat another country’s dignitaries with respect, it’s an extension of our regard for their citizens.
That’s why we don’t say “Wotcha Bozza” to the President or “Hey Short Stuff, your girlfriend is mad as a box of frogs, no pun intended” when Francois Hollande meets David Cameron at a summit.
Sun readers hear you, Louise:
Sure, Delors was then President of the European Commission, but he was also foreign and used to make a point.
But mostly, the insistence that Kate is public property is rude and unacceptable beyond the fact that she is in line to be Queen one day. It’s rude because she’s a woman. LeBron, you may be big and famous but she just met you. Did she ASK you to grab her waist or run your hands down her back? You are a complete stranger.
Isn’t it funny how these full-body hugs and affection gestures never go towards the MEN in our royal family?
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Posted: 14th, December 2014 | In: Royal Family | Comment (1)
Princess Beatrice implicated in North Korean hacking shocker
Princess Beatrice has been ‘HACKED”.
Not to death. Her phone calls have been recorded. This hacking has to do with her salary.
As the Mirror reports:
Hackers working for North Korea are thought to have been behind the security breach in revenge for a new film The Interview, starring James Franco and Seth Rogen. It mocks the country’s leader Kim Jong-un.
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Posted: 8th, December 2014 | In: Celebrities, Royal Family | Comment
FAIL: The BBC Takes A Closer Look At The Queen’s First Tweet
A FIRST look at The Queen’s first tweet, with the BBC and @WolfgangDikface:
Posted: 26th, October 2014 | In: Royal Family | Comment (1)
As If By Magic Pregnant Kate Middleton ‘Reappears’
KATE Middleton, Duchess of Cambridge, is pregnant. You might have heard. She gets morning sickness, which means she doesn’t fancy being on display as Prince William’s ‘brood mare’. But now she’s back! And it’s presented by the media as being a kind of magick:
Like the grinning Cheshire Cat, Kate Middleton “reappears” in the Times:
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Posted: 21st, October 2014 | In: Royal Family | Comment
Kate Middleton Pregnancy Watch – Day 10: Bring Your Daughter Not To Malta
KATE Middleton Pregnancy Watch – Day 10:
The BBC has ” BREAKING NEWS”.
Shares in Dulux/brasso in Malta go through floor!
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Posted: 18th, September 2014 | In: Royal Family | Comment
Daily Express Diana Exclusive: It Was MURDER!
THE Express led with a photograph of Pricness Diana in the slot reserved for Harvey Nichol’s most famous resident and Madeleiene McCann. And the headline: “Hollywood film to claim Diana was murdered.”
James Murray has an “EXCLUSIVE”:
EXCLUSIVE: Hitchcock darling Tippi Hedren looking to back Princess Diana conspiracy film
Yes. The film has yet to be made. It’s yet to be funded. It’s non-filmed film that exists only as an idea.
HOLLYWOOD star Tippi Hedren is considering backing a film suggesting Princess Diana was murdered.
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Posted: 10th, September 2014 | In: Royal Family | Comment
BBC Breaks TUC leader Frances O’Grady Speech on Class With Royal Baby Newsflash
TUC leader Frances O’Grady was talking about the ficional TV show Downton Abbey and was about to mention the fictional book Bridehead Revisisted when the BBC interrupted her culture review for breaking news that Kate Duchess of Cambridge was pregnant.
Always good when the satire writes itself.
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Posted: 9th, September 2014 | In: Reviews, Royal Family | Comment
Kate Middleton Pregnancy Watch Day 1: Kate’s ‘Inner Circle Buzzes’
TV crews set up their cameras in front of Kensington Palace, London, the official residence of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge after the announcement that the Duchess is expecting their second child.
KATE Middleton, Duchess of Cambridge, is pregnant with her second child. The media reacts:
The Times:
The spare is on its way. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are expecting their second baby, it was announced today in a public statement that came close to repeating the drama of the news of her first pregnancy two years ago. Once more the Duchess is suffering from acute morning sickness – and once more the couple have been bounced into revealing the news earlier than they would have liked.
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Posted: 8th, September 2014 | In: Royal Family | Comment
The 1995 Canada Referendum Hoax: Listen To The Queen Talking To A Radio DJ She Thought Was The Prime Minister
Thousands of supporters for national unity gather at the Museum of Civilization in Hull, Quebec, across the Ottawa river from Parliament Hill, Sunday October 29, 1995.
IN 1995, Canada was saved from destruction by the desperation of Canada’s prime minister, Jean Chrétien, and a sudden and passionate mobilisation of the “No” vote. The country voted. And Quebec would not leave Canada.
But it was close. The “No” campaign won, but only by a small margin — 50.6% to 49.4%.
Her Majesty The Queen had been worried, commenting, “It sounds as though the referendum may go the wrong way”. We know she said that because her telephone conversation with a radio DJ pretending to be Chrétien was broadcast to the nation.
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Posted: 5th, September 2014 | In: Reviews, Royal Family | Comment
A Telling Memo On British Newspapers For King George VI’s 1939 Visit To The USA
THIS is a memo on British newspapers by American diplomat for King George VI’s 1939 visit to the US:
Spotter: @JohnKelly
Posted: 16th, June 2014 | In: Flashback, Royal Family | Comment
Prince Charles Know His History: Vladimir Putin Is Doing A Hitler
WHAT are we to make of the news that Prince Charles likened Vladimir Putin to Adolf Hitler? Charles didn’t make his views known in a public address. He was, as the BBC put it, “privately conversing” in Nova Scotia, Canada, where one day he hopes to be head of State. Charles told a woman whose relations were murdered in the Holocaust: “And now Putin is doing just about the same as Hitler.”
A senior Russian diplomatic source tells the Telegraph:
“We are seeking clarification [from the FCO] at a working level. It’s not clear if it is an official position. The response from Clarence House is it was a private talk. We hope there is nothing behind it. But it is unclear to us: what does it mean? He is the future king, after all… It is very serious. Every family in our country lost someone in that war.”
Over 20millions Russian died in World War 2.
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Posted: 22nd, May 2014 | In: Politicians, Reviews, Royal Family | Comment
Prince Harry And Cressida Bonas ‘In Constant Touch’ As They Shake WIth Fear
HUZZAH! prince Harry Baseball Cap and Cressida Bonas (fnar) are back on. The Mail tells readers:
But after just three weeks apart, the pair have had a secret reunion and are now back in ‘constant touch’.
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Posted: 18th, May 2014 | In: Royal Family | Comment
Prince Harry Tastes Of Coleslaw And Barbecue Sauce
THE Sun says “CHEEKY restaurant staff cleaned up after a visit from Princes William and Harry — by flogging their dirty dishes.”
So. Plates and glasses touched by the princes’s honeyed lips at Memphis’ Rendevous eatery “started a bidding war to the 100-strong crowd outside.”
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Posted: 11th, May 2014 | In: Royal Family | Comment
The Murderous Attempt to Kidnap British Princess Anne In 1974
These articles – except the bullet-holed diary – were found by police in the possession of Ian Ball, 26, who pleaded guilty at the Old Bailey to attempting to kidnap Princess Anne, attempted murder of two police officers and wounding two civilians. The diary belonged to shot PC Michael Hills, with the bullet that pierced it still lodged in his liver. On the table are handcuffs, two pairs of which are locked together to provide leg shackles, keys for the handcuffs, gloves worn by Ball during the incident, six spent rounds, three live rounds and 39 spares for the .22 gun and a .38 Astra with five spent rounds and 19 spares. Date: 22/05/1974
ON March 20, 1974, Princess Anne and her husband Captain Mark Phillips were returning to Buckingham Palace along Pall Mall in their Rolls-Royce, driven by Alexander Callender. Rowena Brassey, the Princess’s Lady-in-waiting, was sitting in the car across from the Princess. Next to her was Anne’s armed bodyguard, Inspector James Wallace Beaton.
At the wheel of his Royal Rolls Royce in the royal mews of the Palace of Holyroodhouse is Alexander Callender, of Edinburgh, who has been 20 years in the royal service as a chauffeur. He won the Queen’s Gallantry Medal for his part in protecting Princess Anne during the attempted kidnap of Princess Anne by Ian Ball. Date: 05/07/1974
Another car approached. This white Ford Escort forced the Roller to stop by blocking their route. A man got out. He was Ian Ball, 26, an unemployed labourer from north London.
Beaton got of the Rolls.
Exterior front view of No.3 Christchurch Road, Crouch Hill, London, which was accommodation used by Ian Ball.
Date: 17/05/1974
He had two guns. He fired six shots at the Princess’s car. He shot Beaton on the shoulder.
Ball then rushed to the Rolls. He tried to open the rear door, where Anne was still seated. Anne and Captain Phillips held it shut. Brassey crawled out the other door. Beaton crawled back in. Ball fired. The bullet hit Beaton’s raised hand. Ball shot Beaton again.
Callendar got our the car. He confronted the gunman. Ball shot him in the chest. Ball now managed to prise open the rear door. He grabbed Anne’s arm. Ball addressed her:
“Please, come out. You’ve got to come.”
Phillips took hold of her. The men pulled. Anne’s dress tore.
Seven men came to the aide of the Princess.
Among them was tabloid journalist, a former boxer, two chauffeurs and three policemen.
Sun journalist Brian McConnell, 46, was shot in the chest by Ian Ball during the fired by Ian Ball during the attempted kidnap of Princess Anne in Pall Mall. Date: 20/03/1974
PC Michael Hills, 22, heard the shots and attended. He was hit in the stomach. Hills radioed for help.
Ronald Russell, a company cleaning executive, was driving home from work. He saw the commotion. He’d seen Ball shoot Hills. Russell, a 6’4” former boxer, advanced on Ball. Russell would later say:
“I pulled over and heard a lot of banging and smashing which I thought was the general rumpus. But then Ball shot a policeman, and I thought ‘that’s a liberty, he needs sorting’.”
The kidnapping was not going to plan.
A second chauffeur, one Glenmore Martin, now parked his car in front of Ball’s rented car.
Sun journalist John Brian McConnell had been following in a taxi. He got out. He told Ball:
“Don’t be silly, old boy. Put the gun down.”
Ball shot him.
As Ball made once more for the Princess, Russell punched him in the back of the head.
Ball ran around the car towards the princess, she jumped back in with Phillips, shutting the door. Ronald Russell then punched Ball in the face. He said:
“Ball had a gun at her head. I lent in to the car and said ‘come this way Anne, you’ll be safe.’ I pulled her out and held her in front of me. Ball got behind me, and I thought ‘if he shoots me in the back it won’t hurt as much’. I turned and we were face to face. He was pointing a gun at me. I hit him fair and square on the chin. He went down and police were everywhere.”
The place was now swarming with police.
Ball ran.
Ron Russell, 28, of Chester Road, Strood, helped Princess Anne during the royal’s attempted kidnapping in Pall Mall.
Ball ran through through St. James Park.
Peter Edmonds, a temporary detective constable, gave chase. He tossed his coat over Ball’s head, rugby tackled him and made an arrest.
Commissioner of Police for the Metropolis, Sir Robert Mark (r) talks with the three police officers who are to receive bravery awards for protecting Princess Anne during the attempted kidnapping by Ian Ball. (l-r) PC Michael Hills receives the George Medal, Detective Constable Peter Edmonds is awarded the Queen’s Gallantry Medal and Princess Anne’s bodyguard, Inspector James Beaton is awarded the George Cross. Date: 05/07/1974
A wounded man is carried into the waiting ambulance
Soon after attempted kidnap of Princess Anne, police officers search among the daffodils blooming at the side of the Mall.
Ball had rented the escort.
When searched, police found the haul you see in the first photograph above: handcuffs, Valium, a ransom letter addressed to the Queen – he would demand £2 million in £5 notes, the money stuffed into 20 unlocked suitcases and sent by plane to Switzerland.
The Royal car in which Princess Anne and Captain Mark Phillips had been travelling in when it was stopped by bullets in a kidnap attempt on the Princess in Pall Mall, London. Date: 20/03/1974
Journalists scrambled to pull together theories on how a mentally ill, unemployed man could have masterminded a well-funded kidnapping attempt on his own. An office clerk told a reporter that the police had traced a typewriter that Ball had rented to write the ransom letter. Papers reported that one line of the letter read “Anne will be shot dead.” Days after the kidnapping attempt, a group calling themselves the Marxist-Leninist Activist Revolutionary Movement sent a letter claiming responsibility to The Times of London. Scotland Yard dismissed any connection between that group and Ian Ball. Others recognized a familiar theme in the reported content of the ransom letter, in which Ball had allegedly stated that he would donate the Queen’s ransom to the National Health Services. One month before, a group identifying as the Symbionese Liberation Army had kidnapped Patricia Hearst. In its communication with the Hearst family, the SLA said that they would return the young woman if her family donated what would amount to millions of dollars of food to hungry Californians.
Princess Anne chats to her wounded bodyguard, Inspector James Beaton at Westminster Hospital. Inspector James Beaton was injured during Ian Ball’s attempt to kidnap Princess Anne in Pall Mall.
Date: 25/03/1974
Princess Anne talks to PC Michael Hills, who was injured during Ian Ball’s attempt to kidnap Princess Anne in Pall Mall.
Date: 25/03/1974
A Scotland Yard picture of Police Constable Michael Hills, a 22-year-old bachelor living at Croydon, Surrey, who was on duty outside St James’s Palace when he heard a gun fire. He was wounded in the chest as he approached gunman Ian Ball and collapsed after using his personal radio to report: “I have been shot”. PC Hills joined the Metropolitan Police ‘A’ Division at Cannon Row last may, straight from training school. Date: 21/03/1974
Ball was tried.
A closed police van, with Ian Ball inside, arrives at Bow Street Court. The unemployed 26-year-old, of no fixed abode, was charged with attempting to murder Princess Anne’s bodyguard, Inspector James Beaton, in Pall Mall.Date: 21/03/1974
Ball told the court:
“I would like to say that I did it because I wished to draw attention to the lack of facilities for treating mental illness under the National Health Service.”
Ball admitted to attempted murder and kidnapping. He was sentenced to a life term in a mental health facility. He would end up in Broadmoor, the high-security psychiatric hospital.
Ball was prosecuted for the attempted murder of the princess’s detective, and various offences under the Offences Against the Person Act, but he was not, perhaps surprisingly, charged with treason; threatening the life of, or kidnapping, the Sovereign’s daughter with the intent of extorting money from the Royal family is not treasonable in the absence of an actual violation.
Ronald Russell was decorated for valour, the Queen pinned the George Cross medal to him and said:
“The medal is from the Queen of England, the thank you is from Anne’s mother.”
Princess Anne seemed fairly cool, telling Michael Parkinson on his TV chatshow:
“It’s fair to say that if anyone was very intent on wiping one out it would be very easy to do.”
Earlier she had said:
“It was all so infuriating; I kept saying I didn’t want to get out of the car, and I was not going to get out of the car. I nearly lost my temper with him, but I knew that if I did, I should hit him and he would shoot me.”
Ian Ball has neither been heard of not seen. He is non-person.
Posted: 26th, April 2014 | In: Flashback, Royal Family | Comment
