Photo: Graham Bezant/Toronto Star via Getty
An amateur boxer who helped savePrincess Annefrom an armed kidnapper is auctioning his medal for bravery.
Ronnie Russell, 72, was awarded the George Medal — Britain’s highest civilian award for gallantry — for the role he played in saving the princess’ life outside the gates of Buckingham Palace on March 20, 1974.
“I’ve been very, very unwell, it’s rough,” Russell toldTheMirrorabout his decision to sell the medal almost 46 years after the dramatic events. “I have to make provision for a funeral at some stage. I want to know that’s all done for and not leave that burden to someone else.”
He added: “I just hope whoever buys it will invite me to lunch or something, where I could tell the story properly.”
Should someone take Russell up on his offer, then they will hear quite a tale.
The dad of three was driving to work in central London when his life dramatically changed forever. After deciding to take a short cut through The Mall, Russell suddenly noticed a white Ford Escort driving erratically towards Buckingham Palace and immediately sensed that something was wrong.
Ronnie Russell.Mayfair Auctioneers
Turning his car around, he drove towards the palace and discovered a scene of chaos outside its famous gates, with four men lying wounded from gunshots and unemployed laborer Ian Ball attempting to wrestle Princess Anne out of her limousine at gunpoint.
Despite the clear danger, Russell — then 28 years old and a boxer — ran towards the hold-up and punched Ball in the back of the head.
Looking up he saw Ball continuing to grapple with the then 23-year-old princess, while her husband of four months, Captain Mark Phillips — dad toZara Tindalland Peter Philips — desperately held onto her waist from inside the car.
Without a moment’s thought for his own safety, Russell ran to the other side of the car and, as Ball approached him from behind, turned around and punched the would-be-kidnapper square in the jaw.
“I thought it was now or never. I hit Ball very hard,” Russell tellsTheMirror.
“He was flat on the floor face down. I jumped on his back for good measure. I could have died, yeah, but I knew what I was doing. The only person I did not want to get shot was Princess Anne.”
A gratefulQueen Elizabethawarded Russell his George Medal on November 26, 1974, telling him, “The medal is from the Queen, but I want to thank you as Anne’s mother.”
Ronnie Russell with Queen Elizabeth and Princess Anne.Mayfair Auctioneers
Ronnie Russell’s medals.Mayfair Auctioneers
“I said ‘yes, yes, why?'” Russell tellsThe Mirror.
“They said, ‘Well we are really telling you this a bit early, but the Queen is going to pay off your mortgage as a gift for what you have done.’
“I thought that was wonderful,” he adds. “I was actually close to repossession at the time. They were going to repossess my home. So, I dug myself out of that one.”
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Frank Barrett/Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty
With ill health recently having taken its toll on his ability to work, however, Russell now finds himself in an equally difficult financial position. Auctioning his most prized possession is literally the last resort to pay off his mounting debts — and something he swore he “would never, ever do,” he tellsThe Mirror.
source: people.com
