The Chapel at Sandhurst

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The Chapel at Sandhurst

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Last week, on behalf of The King, Sophie The Duchess of Edinburgh took the salute at the Sovereign's Parade at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.
The day Princess Anne was almost kidnapped on The Mall ā 50 years on
On this day 50 years ago, 23-year-old Princess Anne found herself fighting off a gunman as her bodyguard and driver lay wounded beside her. Emma Loffhagen takes a deep dive into the disturbing day one of the most senior royals was almost kidnapped.
By Emma Loffhagen
20 March 2024
āYour daughter has been kidnapped. The following are conditions to be fulfilled for release.ā
In March 1974, Ian Ball used a rented typewriter to haphazardly type a letter intended for the then-head of state, Queen Elizabeth II.
Ball, 26, a funeral home worker, demanded Ā£3 million ā to be paid in Ā£5 notes ā in exchange for the return of the Queenās daughter, Princess Anne.
After becoming fixated with the 23-year-old princess, he spent two years hatching an elaborate plan to kidnap her.
Today, March 20, marks the 50th anniversary of Ballās kidnap attempt ā one of the most bizarre and disturbing episodes in British royal history.
A āloner,ā Ball had been inspired to hatch his elaborate kidnap plot by the novel Day of the Jackal.
He wanted to follow in the footsteps of the bookās hero, the contracted assassin the Jackal.
āHe was a very strange man,ā Ballās neighbour later said. āThe only time he ever went out was when he went down to the launderette or went out for some food.ā
It was thought that he had developed a āfixationā on the royal, whipped up by the widespread and lavish coverage of her wedding to Captain Mark Phillips the previous year.
As part of his plan, Ball had moved from his run-down flat in Bayswater to a lush rented house in Fleet, Hampshire.
It was only a few miles from Sandhurst, where Anne lived with her then-husband Phillips.
After a quick phone call to the Buckingham Palace press office, Ball knew which engagements and events Anne attended each week.
He rented a car under the alias John Williams, stocking the boot with Valium tranquilisers and two pairs of handcuffs.
On the evening of 20 March 1974, Anne was travelling back to Buckingham Palace in an Austin Princess limousine.
She had attended a screening of Riding Towards Freedom, a documentary by the charity Riding for the Disabled.
Captain Phillips, her bodyguard James Beaton, and her lady-in-waiting Rowena Jane Brassey, were also in the car driven by royal chauffeur Alexander Callender.
At around 8pm, as the group drove up The Mall, a white Ford Escort swerved in front of the limousine, forcing Callender to stop.
Then a 31-year-old inspector, Beaton, who had been Anneās bodyguard for a year, got out to investigate.
āI thought it was somebody who wanted to be a pain in the neck,ā he later said. āThere was no hint of what was to happen.ā
Suddenly, a bearded man with light red hair jumped out of the vehicle and pulled out two handguns, smashing the passenger window with the butt of one.
Beaton had not even had the chance to pull out his weapon when he was shot in the shoulder.
He then attempted to fire back at Ball ā but missed. Upon a second attempt, his gun ā a Walther PPK ā jammed.
Ball turned to the passenger door behind the driverās seat and started shaking it. Anne was sat on the other side. āOpen, or Iāll shoot!ā he shouted.
As the princess and Captain Phillips desperately tried to hold the door closed, Anneās lady-in-waiting crawled out of the door on the passenger side.
Beaton got back in the car, placing himself between the couple and their assailant.
Ball shot into the car, and Beatonās hand deflected the bullet.
He shot the bodyguard a third time, hitting Beaton in the abdomen and causing him to fall from the vehicle.
āI felt tired and very drunk, although I hadnāt been drinking,ā Beaton later told police. āI just wanted to lie down.ā
Callender stepped out to confront the gunman, but Ball shot him in the chest and he fell back into the car.
Pulling the door open, Ball grabbed Anneās forearm as her husband held on to her waist.
āPlease, come out,ā Ball reportedly told the princess. āYouāve got to come.ā
As the pair struggled over Anne, her dress ripped, splitting down the back, which she later recalled prompted her to ālose her rag.ā
But, rather than panic, she had what she described as a āvery irritating conversationā with her potential kidnapper.
Unbelievably calm despite the commotion, Anne famously replied: āNot bloody likely!ā
In an interview with the late television presenter Michael Parkinson, she recalled:
āHe [the gunman] opened the door and we had a discussion about where ā or where not ā we were going to go.
āI said I didnāt think I wanted to go. I was scrupulously polite because I thought it would be silly to be too rude at that stage.ā
A nearby tabloid journalist, Brian McConnell, arrived on the scene.
Recognising the limoās insignia, he realised the commotion must have involved a royal family member.
āDonāt be silly, old boy,ā he told Ball. āPut the gun down.ā
Ball responded by shooting him too and McConnell collapsed bleeding onto the road.
A man named Ronnie Russell drove past at this point.
He was on his way home to Strood, Kent, from working as an area manager for a cleaning company in London.
In a stroke of incredible luck, Russell happened to be a former boxer. He had cut his cloth at the Repton Club in east London, an infamous venue sponsored by the notorious Kray twins.
Jumping out of the car, Russell punched Ball twice in the head before leading Anne and her lady-in-waiting away from the attacker.
He later explained that he ādid not like bullies,ā which prompted his decision to intervene.
Despite being injured, Ball still shot the first police officer to arrive on the scene, Constable Michael Hills, 22, before running off.
Detective Constable Peter Edmonds, who answered Constable Hillsā radio request for backup, chased Ball down The Mall and through St Jamesās Park before tackling him on the ground.
At Ballās Old Bailey trial in May 1974, more details came to light about the plot.
Ball kept his head lowered for most of the proceedings, only uttering the word āguiltyā to confirm the charges of attempted murder and kidnapping.
In his pocket, detectives had discovered the kidnap note addressed to the Queen, which demanded the £3 million ransom (the equivalent of £26 million today), a free pardon, and a plane to fly him to Switzerland.
He had planned to take the princess to a central London property he had rented under an alias.
In a police interview, Ball also said he believed Anne would be an easy target after ascertaining her whereabouts by phoning the Buckingham Palace press office.
āI had thought about it for years,ā he said. āShe would have been the easiest. I have seen her riding with her husband.ā
Ball also showed no remorse for having shot three men on the night of the attempted kidnap.
āThey were getting in my way so I had to shoot them,ā he said. āWell, the police, that's their job. They expect to be shot. I took a chance of getting shot so why shouldn't they?ā
He added: āI suppose Iāll be locked up for the rest of my life. I am only sorry I frightened Princess Anne. There is one good thing coming out of this: you will have to improve on her protection.ā
Ball was diagnosed with schizophrenia following the trial and sentenced to a mental health facility under the Mental Health Act, āwithout limit or time."
He remains in the Broadmoor Hospital in Berkshire to this day.
The facility has been home to a series of notorious criminals, including serial killer Peter Sutcliffe and London gangster Ronnie Kray.
Immediately after the attack, the royals ceased having only one protection officer.
When Anne visited Beaton in hospital, āshe turned up with two policemen,ā her bodyguard said. āFrom then on, thatās what it was.ā
āI had nothingā¦There was no back-up vehicle,ā Beaton told The Times separately.
āThe training was non-existent; but then again, [we thought] nothing was going to happen. They are highly specialised now, highly trained.ā
Beaton continued to work for Anne for another five years ā before the Queen employed him.
After Beatonās weapon jammed, the type of guns used by bodyguards were also changed: āThe Walthers were got rid of overnight.ā
Beaton was honoured for his bravery, receiving the George Cross ā the UKās highest civilian honour for gallantry.
Russell also received the honour. In a 2006 interview, Russell recalled what Queen Elizabeth said as she presented his George Medal:
āThe medal is from the Queen of England, the thank you is from Anneās mother.ā
Israeli soldiers trained secretly by UK
We found Israeli soldiers who were being trained secretly by the UK
Israeli army officers have been allowed to study at a British military academy in central London throughout the Gaza genocide.
At least two Israeli colonels have attended the prestigious Royal College of Defence Studies (RCDS) since 2023.
One of the soldiers, thought to be Elad Edri, only graduated a fortnight ago.
Another officer, Yeftah Norkin, completed the course in July 2024 and almost immediately led the armyās āBangā division in Israelās invasion of Lebanon.
Norkin, who comes from an influential military family, commanded a patrol company in Operation Cast Lead, Israelās 2008-9 war in Gaza which killed hundreds of children.
āRising starsā Established in 1927 as the Imperial Defence College, the RCDS in Belgravia is one of Britainās most eminent military academies.
From its elegant Georgian building ringed by embassies, the college organises training for ārising starsā among the officer class from the UK and abroad.
While Sandhurst teaches junior army officers, the RCDS mentors mid-ranking troops who have ambitions to climb the chain of command, awarding them a post-graduate certificate in international security studies.
The college describes itself as āa world-renowned institution committed to developing strategic thinkers⦠who have the potential to reach the highest ranksā.
RCDS alumni include Major General Hidai Zilberman, the former IDF spokesperson and now Israeli defence attachĆ© to the US, and General Harel Knfao, who served as Chief of Staff of Israelās Southern Command.
Read more:
After months of secrecy from Labour, we expose where Israeli troops have trained in Britain during the Gaza genocide.
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Source || Double Down News
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Interesting that there are also cheating allegations about Prince Harry from when he was at Sandhurstā¦.

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Catherine Middleton at the Sovereign's parade, at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, December 2006.
The reward of one duty is the power to fulfill another.
- George Eliot
Like grandmother, like grandson. The future of the monarchy is in safe hands.
**Photo: HM Queen Elizabeth II walks past William at Sovereignās parade, the passing out ceremony of commissioned army officers at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst.
"Prince Harryās claim the Army taught him to dehumanise the 25Ā TalibanĀ he killed has been challenged by his Sandhurst classmates."
Prince Harry's claim the Army taught him to dehumanise the 25 Taliban he killed has been challenged by his Sandhurst classmates.