After their one brief meeting left him perilously close to death, Jim Beaton might be forgiven for never wanting to set eyes on Ian Ball again.
Detailed to protect a royal life with his own, the then Inspector Beaton almost made the ultimate sacrifice when the deranged gunman opened fire during an audacious bid to kidnap Princess Anne for a £3million ransom.
Ball, a ‘dangerous’ loner armed with two guns, had stalked the princess late one night in March 1974 before ambushing her limousine in The Mall by pulling up in front of it in his white Ford Escort.
As the kidnap plot quickly descended into bloody violence, Scots–born Mr Beaton was shot three times at point-blank range by Ball as he fought to defend the Queen’s 23-year-old daughter and her now ex–husband Captain Mark Phillips.
In the ensuing mayhem, the kidnapper also shot Anne’s chauffeur, a passing police officer and a journalist who had been following the princess’s car, before a passing ex–boxer hit him on the head and led Anne to safety.
