Season three of The Crown will land on Netflix on November 17, and producers previously revealed that the show will begin to focus more on the Queen and Prince Philip's older children, Prince Charles and Princess Anne, during their younger adult life. They have confirmed that they will be introducing Charles' future wives, Diana Spencer and Camilla Parker-Bowles into the story, so it stands to reason that the Princess Royal's first husband, Mark Phillips, will also be introduced. Since the popular Netflix show looks at the notable incidents in the lives of the royal family, the show could well dramatise the kidnapping attempt of Princess Anne as she travelled to Buckingham Palace with her husband, which took place in 1974.
Anne visiting James Beaton
The couple had been attending a charity event while they returned to the Palace on Pall Mall, where the would-be kidnapper Ian Ball forced their car to stop by driving in front of them, and fired a gun which shot Anne's personal police officer, Inspector James Beaton, her chauffeur, Alex Callender, and a journalist who saw the incident and tried to intervene, Brian McConnell. A police officer who arrived on the scene, Constable Michael Hills, was also shot before the assailant could be arrested. All four wounded men survived and received medals for their bravery along with a boxer who was passing during the incident, Ron Russell, also attacked Ian and led the Princess away. Upon receiving the George Medal for his bravery, he revealed that the Queen told her: "The medal is from the Queen, the thank you is from Anne's mother."
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Speaking about the incident on Parkinson in the 1980s, Anne said: "He opened the door and we had a discussion about where or where not we were going to go. He said I had to go with him, I can't remember why... I said I didn't think I wanted to go. I was scrupulously polite because I thought it would be silly to be too rude at that stage and we had a fairly low-key discussion about the fact that I wasn't going to go anywhere." She also revealed that her dress split during a struggle where they tried to close the car door, joking: "That was his most dangerous moment. I lost my rag at that moment."
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