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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Ariane Sohrabi-Shiraz

King Charles' rude comment to Harry and William exposed after microphone gaffe

Charles had his fair share of controversies before he became King on September 8 2022, after his mother Queen Elizabeth II passed away aged 96.

His father, Prince Philip was also known for his more near-the-knuckle comments such as "You managed not to get eaten then?, while speaking to a British student who was trekking through Papa New Guinea in 1988, and when he told a group of British exchange students in China in 1986: "If you stay here much longer, you’ll get slitty eyes".

Meanwhile, King Charles was hoping to be slightly more discreet when he seemingly forgot that the microphones could pick up everything he said during an interview which saw him famously let slip a rude comment in 2005.

Charles was on holiday at the Klosters ski resort in the Swiss Alps with his sons Prince William and Prince Harry, and was quizzed about his upcoming wedding to Camilla Parker Bowles by BBC's royal correspondent Nicholas Witchell.

Then known as Prince Charles, he was on holiday with sons Harry and William (BBC)

Then Prince of Wales, it seems the royal had hoped the cameras would leave them alone while they enjoyed their holiday – but it didn't go as smoothly as the heir to the throne hoped.

When asked how he felt about his upcoming nuptials to Camilla, who was known as "the other woman" during his marriage to Princess Diana, he somewhat cheekily replied: "I'm very glad you heard of it anyway," after which his face could be seen contorting into an awkward, exasperated grin.

The future King could then be heard through gritted teeth uttering: "Bloody people. I can't bear that man. He's so awful. He really is."

Whether or not Charles actually forgot about the microphones or not is open to debate, but Charles no doubt knew he was surrounded by cameras.

Royal reporter Nicholas Witchell was on the receiving end of Charles' comments (BBC)

Meanwhile, during the incident William quickly jumped in to defuse the situation with a light-hearted response: "As long as I don't lose the rings. I have one responsibility and I'm bound to do something wrong."

Charles clearly had a constrained feelings about Mr Witchell, who had been the first journalist to announce the death of his first wife Princess Diana, who passed away in a car crash in 1997.

The longstanding royal reporter also caused some offence in 2002 when he referenced the Queen's sister Margaret's lovers and "copious" consumption of whisky in his obituary.

Speaking about the incident in 2014, Mr Witchell said: "There has never been an apology, and why should there be? He was probably quite right. You know, awful man.

"You could take the view it was the best thing that happened to me, because it showed that it is our job as BBC journalists to report fairly and accurately, but not to seek approval. We're not there to be liked."

Mr Witchell and Charles had an uncomfortable reunion when they came face-to-face at an environmental fundraiser in Washington DC in March 2015.

This was thought to be the first time the two had met since the father-of-two had been heard muttering the rude comments.

When asked by Mr Witchell why he "still cared so much" about environmental issues, the prince responded: "Well, I'll turn it round the other way, I think you'd be more surprised if I didn't care about these things.

"But I think particularly in terms of what I've been talking about now, there's an awful lot to worry about."

However, Charles' then-press secretary Paddy Harverson later admitted his former boss did have some regret about what he said that day.

He said: "Nicholas was in the firing line when the prince was expressing his general frustration at the paparazzi and it boiled over at the first person to ask a question.

"It wasn't personal. He does regret saying it. He really didn't mean to take it out on Nicholas."

Harry, Charles and William were reportedly hoping for a quiet holiday (Getty Images)

That day was also famous for an endearing interaction between Charles and his then-youthful sons.

As the reporters bustled in their media huddle, Charles asked William and Harry: "Do I put my arms around you?"

William replied: "No, don't, but you can take the horrible glasses away."

Charles said: "Do not be rude about my glasses, I couldn't bear it if you were."

A cheeky photographer then tells the Royal trio to "look like you know each other", causing the princes to lean into their dad who puts his arms around his sons.

Charles then said to his sons: "What do we do?"

At the time, Mr Harverson said: "We recognise that we cannot stop photographers taking these pictures, but we hope every year that they will respect the privacy of the family and friends and their need to have a private holiday. There were paps taking pictures all over the place all day."

At the time, Harry was on his way to Sandhurst military academy while William was to graduate from university that summer.

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