Horrifying attempts on royal family’s lives — Even King Charles suffered a close brush

The royal family is largely used to life in the spotlight; the capacity to entertain and engage with hoards of crowds is practically their primary job in the modern landscape of monarchy.

Rarely are the royals ever alone in the endeavour though, even during holidays and time off, as they really cannot afford the luxury of going entirely off grid — and for good reason.

Considerable numbers of British royalty have survived assassination and kidnap attempts on their lives, including Queen Elizabeth.

If not outright hunted, members of the Crown have often received such threats and have had to continue their public work under the sword of danger.

Following are some of the close calls which were suffered — and survived — by royalty:

King Charles

When King Charles, then the Prince of Wales, took a solo trip to Australia in 1994, he fell prey to a bizarre assassination attempt.

Given the fact that he had separated from Princess Diana in 1992, the then Prince made his way around the world unaccompanied, except for his usual protocol and close aides.

Prior to the trip, a university student from Sydney, David Kang wrote to the future king and urged him to pay a visit at the Villawood Immigration Detention Center.

The government facility at the time was housing Cambodian immigrants, crudely known as “boat people” at the time, while Kang went on to describe it as a “modern day concentration camp” in his communication to Charles.

A response from one of the King’s private secretaries at St James’s Palace relayed his sympathies for the student’s cause as it stated that though the royal understood “the strength” of Kang’s “concerns”, “this is not a matter with which he can become personally involved.”

When Charles made his way to Tumbalong Park in Sydney on the occasion of Australia Day, he was expected to deliver an address regarding Britain’s shared connection with Australia.

As he approached the podium onstage, the former Prince of Wales was targeted by a man who was later identified as Kang, when the student who previously wrote to the royal family member fired two shots at him.

Seeming surprisingly relaxed and nonchalant as he adjusted his cufflinks while the fiasco unfolded, Charles was swiftly moved out of the way by security, whereas Kang was overpowered when he tried to storm the stage after firing his rounds.

It was later discovered that the student had shot blanks from a starting pistol, only to make a political statement, not actually harm the Prince.

Following the shocking incident, Australian Prime Minister Paul Keating said, “We are all embarrassed when any good friend of Australia, any person such as this, is affronted in this way. Prince Charles is a good friend of this country and he should be treated with the respect and dignity that a good friend deserves.”

While further controversy also ensued because of Australian authorities and Buckingham Palace officials shifting blame towards each other, Kang himself later told Sydney Morning Herald that the event was very “traumatic” for him as well, as he had only set out to demonstrate a political statement for the Cambodian refugees.

David Kang was further sentenced to 500 hours of community service after he was found guilty of threatening unlawful violence.

Queen Elizabeth

While several attempts had been made to assassinate Queen Elizabeth throughout her long reign, in 1981, the late monarch survived a rather notorious one.

The plot occurred during her birthday procession, the official ceremony known as Trooping the Colour, while the Queen rode her horse, Burmese, through the streets of the capital.

During her ride, a 17-year-old named Marcus Sarjeant fired six blanks at the Queen, who was 55 years old at the time.

Though Elizabeth, as well as her horse, were left startled in the wake of the shooting, the former ruler of Britain quickly recovered and proceeded to comfort her 19-year-old stallion.

Furthermore, before the ceremony, Sarjeant even addressed the Queen via a letter mailed to Buckingham Palace, in which he wrote, “Your Majesty. Don’t go to the Trooping the Colour ceremony because there is an assassin set up to kill you, waiting just outside the palace.”

While the letter did not reach the Palace until three days after his assassination attempt, the man who was later found guilty exclaimed that he “wanted to be famous” when he was seized by security.

Marcus Sarjeant subsequently spent three years in prison, later released at the age of 20, upon which he drafted a formal apology to the Queen, who never responded.

Princess Diana

Diana, Princess of Wales became a target for anti-royalists after her marriage to then Prince Charles.

While the plot to assassinate both Diana and Charles was concocted by the Irish Republic Army (IRA).

Their assasination scheme was in turn foiled by a former IRA member, Sean O’Callaghan, who offered to turn informant for the Irish police.

Meanwhile, the former Prince and Princess of Wales were to attend a Duran Duran concert, the venue chosen for the murderous attempt on their lives.

“This was going to be a concert for The Prince’s Trust. And the headline act was set to be Duran Duran,” revealed Henry Hemming, an English non-fiction author and journalist.

O’Callaghan stated in his book The Informer that the IRA planned to target the royal couple so that “Anglo-Irish relations would sink to a new low.”

While Hemming further noted, “Their plan was to plant a bomb in a bathroom behind the royal box in a theatre where they knew that Charles and Diana would be going to attend a concert.”

However, the Irish double agent, O’Callaghan, was tasked with planting the bomb and thus, the attempt failed.

Due to his role in saving the lives of Princess Diana and Prince Charles, among other services, Sean O’Callaghan later received a pardon from Queen Elizabeth in 1997.

Princess Anne

While Queen Elizabeth’s only daughter, Princess Anne, was not targeted in an assassination scheme, she did fall prey to a kidnapper’s whims.

In 1975, when a 23-year-old Anne returned to Buckingham Palace, accompanied by her first husband, Captain Mark Phillips, her car came to a halt near the premises.

The couple soon found out that another had blocked their path, as the other driver stepped out with a drawn handgun and shot the Princess Royal’s security officer, Jim Beaton, as well as her chauffeur, Alexander Callender.

Ian Ball, the assailant, was then shot at by the officer, however while he missed the man during the first attempt, while his gun later jammed when he tried to fire again.

The culprit then ordered the Princess to exit her vehicle, as he planned to kidnap her for a £2 million ransom.

Upon which, she remained calm and famously replied, “Not bloody likely.”

The kidnapper was soon put in his place by Ronnie Russell, a boxer, who happened to be passing the scene of the attempted crime.

Both Russell and Beaton later received the George Cross for their bravery, the highest British civilian honour for gallantry.

Notably, it was this close call, survived by Princess Anne, which first made the royal family spring into action, as they upped their security measures to how they are known today.

Members of the royal family have since been protected by the police force, not just one protection officer, like the Princess was that fateful day.

While those working to provide security for the royals also got rid of Walther arms, the pistol which had jammed when Protection Officer Jim Beaton had tried to save Queen Elizabeth’s second born.