The Attackers' Motivations
| Pretender to throne | ||
| 1 | Rebecca O'Hara | Asserted her right to the throne as the true queen |
| 6 | Urban Metcalf | Believed he was king based on delusional genealogy; repeatedly attempted to enter royal palaces |
| Politically motivated | ||
| 8 | Edward Oxford | Led a secret society, Young England, dedicated to radical political change, though with few, if any, other members; assassination was to advance the society's aims |
| 14 | Roderick Maclean | Wrote royalty were “bloated aristocrats” who robbed the poor; persecutory delusions mixed in with antiroyalist and leveler sentiments20 |
| 15 | Henry O'Farrell | Campaigned against local Archbishop, who he believed was persecuting him; also gave an account of being a member of a Fenian organization fighting for Irish freedom, although it is doubtful that any such group existed |
| 19 | Christopher Lewis | Led a small group, the National Imperial Guerrilla Army, holding right-wing, antimonarchist, nationalist views19 |
| 21 | Henearoachuca Tepou | Attempted to publicize Maori grievances |
| 22 | David Kang | Frustrated at authorities ignoring his campaign on behalf of refugees |
| 23 | Castilav Bracanov | Long-time antiroyalist campaigner |
| Petitioners | ||
| 2 | Margaret Nicholson | Frustrated after not receiving any response to her multiple petitions to the king seeking her “rights” |
| 3 | John Frith | Multiple petitions to parliament and the king around his construction of the constitution and Bill of Rights; the lack of response led to the attack |
| 7 | Dennis Collins | Ex-sailor wounded in action who was pursuing a range of grievances against the Admiralty by repeated petitions; frustration at lack of response precipitated the attack |
| The resentful | ||
| 9 | John Francis | Resentful at the world in general and about the money wasted on royalty in particular |
| 10 | John Bean | “Tired of life”; antimonarchist wanting attention and to express anger at the system; imitating Francis |
| 16 | Jerome Bannigam | Resentful at his treatment by the government and the Home Secretary in particular |
| 18 | Marcus Sargeant | Bitter about his failure and unemployment; wanted to make himself famous through the attack; military ambitions; interest in assassins |
| Bizarre | ||
| 4 | James Hadfield | Acted on God's instructions to kill the King so as to usher in the Second Coming |
| 17 | Ian Ball | Attempted to kidnap Princess Anne for a complex mixture of reasons: wanted ransom (3 million pounds), wanted to publicize the plight of the working class, and wanted his parking fines to be excused |
| 20 | Alfred Adcock | Sexual preoccupations with touching women (several convictions for indecent assault); fixated on Diana, erotomanic delusions |
From the attackers' statements before and after the events, it was possible to discern a motive in 19 of the cases. The motivations in some cases were mixed, but the predominant drives and intentions have been used for classification.