King Charles' 16-word scolding after wild karaoke night recalled by royal insider
Jennie Bond has watched royal history unfold for the last 35 years from a coveted front row seat and has witnessed some of the monarchy's most high profile scandals and events first hand.
Among her memories of being familiar with Queen Elizabeth II's "icy stare" and being laughed at by the King for wearing white stilettos to stumble across a muddy field, are unbelievable stories of what happened on royal tours over the years.
It was a trip to Fraser Island off the coast of Brisbane with the then-Prince Charles that makes Jennie laugh the most as she recalls what the reporters got up to in the evening.
Speaking to us during her exclusive OK! shoot to mark her 35th anniversary as a royal reporter, Jennie explains: “When you’re travelling with the royals and when you’re travelling with other reporters there are a lot of laughs along the way. One moment I remember was when we were flown to Fraser Island after a very busy tour of Australia with Prince Charles.
"We all stayed in the same hotel and we journalists all did very loud karaoke in the bar. Charles had said he was going to come down, but he didn’t in the end.
"I have to confess that we reporters then sat in a hot tub outside under the stars surrounded by wine bottles having a lovely time. The next morning when Charles came down he said ‘Was that you lot making all that bloody awful noise? You kept me awake all night!’”
Funny moments aside, another royal tour that is remembered for an altogether more poignant reason was her trip to Angola with Diana in 1997.
“It was so important to highlight the issue of landmines in Angola. It was something that the princess cared deeply about.
"Both she and I pored over the facts before we went and for once, I felt like I was reporting on something really substantive that could begin to bring about change in the suffering of the people of Angola, many of whom had been maimed by landmines.
"So it was a real privilege to accompany the princess on that tour and to watch her in that iconic shot walking through a landmine field.”
Now, three and a half decades on, Jennie is still as busy as ever, broadcasting for multiple outlets and writing extensively about the royals, but she tries to find a bit more time to put on her gardening gloves.
A devoted mum to daughter Emma, 34, and doting granny to Beau, four, and Willow, two, Jennie has created an eden in Devon where she lives with husband Jim. Although her grandchildren are still young, they are already accustomed to having a famous gran!
“The kids are very young to understand the work I do, but I think Beau was tickled by seeing me give a short speech to his classmates and the rest of the primary school. I wasn’t sure how to pitch it to such a young audience, but they all listened well, and asked some imaginative questions.
"They wanted to know if I had ever been to the Palace and how you become a Queen, and whether she wears her crown all the time! It was interesting to realise that, for them, Diana, Princess of Wales was – if anything – a distant figure in history. These days I broadcast a lot over zoom from home. And the grandkids love to try to make mischief by coming in and sitting on my chair just before I go live!
“I love them both to bits and spend as much time as possible with them and my beautiful daughter... who is my best friend (alongside my hubby). We also have a kind and talented TV director son-in-law and I have the added good fortune to have two wonderful stepchildren, who are now very much grown up, and another brilliant son-in-law.
“I have been incredibly lucky to have such a long and full career as well as a very happy family life. I don’t think it has been that easy for any of us. Emma often had to accept that her mum couldn’t be with her and was at work.
"Jim gave up his job to become a househusband and never complained that I was often away and always busy. And the grandkids now understand when we say granny can’t be there because she’s working. As for me… I live with an underlying current of permanent guilt! But these days I try my very best to prioritise family life over work. They deserve it.”
