I thought I watched terrifying assassination attempt on Charles right in front of my eyes
AN expert has told how she watched what appeared to be an assassination attempt on King Charles right in front of her eyes.
Prince Charles, as he was then known, was targeted by protester David Kang at an Australia Day speech in Sydney in 1994.
Kang, then 23, fired two blank shots from a starting pistol – but for a moment onlookers thought he had tried to kill Charles.
Former BBC royal correspondent Jennie Bond told how she saw Kang “catapult” himself at Charles in the bizarre stunt.
Speaking on The Sun’s Royal Exclusive show, Bond said: “We were in Australia and it was Australia Day.
“Charles was at a rather boring concert or something at Tumbalong Park.
“He was going to make a big speech that evening and we were told the transcripts for this speech were going to be made available.
“So most of us peeled off from this rather boring event to get our transcripts.
“But I remembered I’d left my bag with the cameraman, who was still there.”
Bond added: “So I went racing back across the park to get my bag and I got it.
“As I looked up, bang bang right in front of my eyes. Suddenly the protection officer threw himself in front of Charles.
“A man catapulted himself onto the stage, the microphone fell over – there was chaos.
“I thought ‘Yes, we have just witnessed an attempt to kill the Prince of Wales’.
“It wasn’t – it was a protest by a Cambodian boat man or student and it was a starting pistol in fact.
“But my God that was dramatic – that was another 36-hour job. You must have done this, we were up for 36 hours with no sleep.”
Kang planned the stunt as a protest against the treatment of desperate Cambodian refugees in Australian detention camps.
He jumped a fence and ran onto the stage – firing a shot at Charles as the prince walked towards the lectern.
The 23-year-old fired another shot before he crashed into the lectern and was tackled to the ground by cops.
‘Cool as a cucumber’
Fifteen policemen and bodyguards piled onto Kang while the unhurt Charles was pulled off the stage.
Onlooker Ian Kiernan said Charles was “cool as a cucumber” throughout the stunt.
Charles’s senior personal protection officer Superintendent Colin Trimming was praised for throwing himself in front of the prince.
Kang was found guilty of threatening unlawful violence and sentenced to 500 hours of community service.
He is now a successful barrister in Sydney and is married with two children.
In a 2005 interview, he said: “What happened 11 years ago was an extremely traumatic experience.
“I have certainly moved on in my life and now I have become a barrister here in Sydney.”
What is Australia Day?
AUSTRALIA Day began as a time to come together to celebrate what it means to be a proud Aussie.
But in recent years, acknowledging January 26 as a public holiday has become unpopular amid changing views on what it really represents.
Although the day is an important date in Australia‘s history, opinions are varied about whether it should be held in high regard.
That’s because Australia Day was originally held to mark the anniversary of the arrival of the First Fleet of 11 convict ships, sent from Britain – colonisation.
On this day, in 1788, commander Captain Arthur Phillip raised the Union Jack in Sydney Cove – to signal their arrival.
The date has long been a difficult symbol for many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who see it as a day of sorrow and mourning.
For many it’s a painful reminder of death, introduced diseases and an almost eradicated culture.
For First Nations People across the country intergenerational trauma and inequality stemmed from colonisation.
Tilly Langford, a First Nations comedian and political commentator, said Invasion Day, to her, symbolises a lot of her own conflictions with Australia.
She told news.com.au: “The way it is now is so tied up in pain, struggle and trauma.
“The thought of being able to love it without those feelings feels so bittersweet and impossible.
“I don’t think I ever will celebrate ‘Australia Day’ really, regardless of when it is.
“I also don’t think I’ll ever be able to truly love this country as my ancestors were able to.
“But one day, I hope there is enough healing for my children or even their children to. And that healing needs to start now.”