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.
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"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."
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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."
