News | Apr 15, 2022 07:20 PM EDT

Princess Anne Suffered 'Nightmare' During Royal Tours: What Happened?

By Alexandria Reeves

Princess Anne's royal tours are not always smooth-sailing she once experienced a nightmare during one of her engagements.

Although Prince Charles is the heir to the throne, Princess Anne outshined him as she completed 387 royal engagements in 2021 alone. With that, she had been tagged as the hardest-working royal family member.

Princess Anne once told TV legend, Michael Parkinson, about her "vivid" dream when she launched her first major royal tour in 1970. At that time, she started embarking on her journey in Fiji before reaching Tonga and New Zealand.

The then-20-plus-year-old Princess Anne and Prince Charles were allowed to rest at a sheep station. But during her first night in the area, the royal princess reportedly suffered from a nightmare.

"That night I found myself - I kept trying to wake myself up, because I was absolutely convinced that I was in the middle of a room full of people and that I was supposed to be talking to them, and actually what I was doing was lying down in this room full of people and I just couldn't get up to talk to them," she said.

Princess Anne managed to wake herself up from the nightmare afterward. She recalled spending her previous days shaking people's hands and talking to them about different issues and topics.

It turned out that the royal engagements triggered the nightmare since she reportedly received no training before the royal tour.

Princess Anne Almost Got Kidnapped

Aside from the nightmare, Princess Anne also experienced a real-life terror when she almost got kidnapped in 1974.

The then-23-year-old princess was traveling back to Buckingham Palace after attending a charity event with Captain Mark Phillips. A car suddenly blocked their way, and its driver, Ian Ball, pulled out a handgun. He shot the royal's security officer and chauffeur, Jim Beaton.

A journalist who was nearby the incident was also injured after trying to intervene.

The suspect was reportedly trying to kidnap the princess for a $2.6 million ransom. Instead of feeling panicked, Princess Anne came out of the car and told him, "Not bloody likely."

Boxer Ronnie Russell passed by and managed to stop Ball by punching his head.

Both Beaton and Russell were honored for their bravery, receiving the highest civilian honor for gallantry. The George Cross. After the incident, the royal family changed its way of how the members should be protected.

"I had nothing... There was no back-up vehicle. The training was non-existent; but then again, [we thought] nothing was going to happen. They are highly specialised now, highly trained," Beaton said.