Dir: John Alexander
Broadcaster: ITV
Format: 1x90min

The true story of one man’s bizarre attempt to kidnap the Queen’s only daughter, and the shocking reality of how close he came to succeeding.

More than 30 years on from the attempted abduction of Princess Anne, ITV retold the incredible story for the first time in a drama-documentary.

On March 20th 1974, Princess Anne came within seconds of being kidnapped, amid gunfire, on a public street in the heart of London.
It would go down in history as the first ever kidnap attempt on a member of the Royal Family and would leave four people shot and the fate of the Royal Family almost transformed.

To Kidnap a Princess told the fascinating story of how one man acting alone and with no political motive, plotted for and almost pulled off the most audacious kidnap attempt of the century.
Based entirely on factual evidence the film goes inside the mind of troubled loner, Ian Ball. The 26-year-old schizophrenic had been planning the abduction in meticulous detail for three years. He’d smuggled firearms into the country, organised a hideout and had changed his name in a bid to raise a £3 million ransom from the Queen which he intended to pass on to the National Health Service.

To Kidnap a Princess features a mix of dramatised scenes and personal testimony from key witnesses including DI James Beaton – the Princess’s bodyguard who was shot three times and was lucky to escape with his life.