Revealed: What made Charles call BBC Royal Correspondent Nicholas Witchell ‘that bloody man’ in infamous 2005 hot mic outburst
Retiring BBC royal correspondent Nicholas Witchell said Charles didn’t speak to him for “many years” after a story he wrote infuriated the then-future king and prompted those famous heated comments on the microphone.
The veteran royal correspondent, who retires next year, became the target of the then Prince of Wales’s irritation during a photo shoot with William and Harry. in the Swiss Alps in 2005, just eight days before Charles was due to marry Queen Camilla.
The then Prince of Wales was furious when Witchell asked him how he felt about the upcoming wedding, prompting the future monarch to say under his breath: “Bloody people.” I can’t stand this man. I mean, he’s so terrible, really.
In an interview with “Sunday Times” Now the journalist has explained why Charles was so angry, saying an article he wrote about a holiday he took with Camilla on a friend’s yacht sparked anger.
Former BBC royal correspondent Nicholas Witchell (pictured in 2016) said he so upset Charles with an article he wrote about the future king during a yacht holiday with Camilla that the then-prince did not speak to him for “many years”. ‘
He said: “I compared it to the holiday the former Prince of Wales (Edward VIII) took with his mistress (Wallis Simpson) and I know he really didn’t like it. He was very angry.
A former BBC employee said Charles stopped speaking to him for several years, which the journalist said did not harm his career as it showed he was “not blowing smoke up the royal family’s arse.”
Witchell said he and the monarch eventually made peace, and that the king even became a patron of the Norman Memorial Trust, which the journalist co-founded.
Earlier this year, Witchell revealed he was “shocked” when he realized exactly what Charles had said about him in 2005, saying his question to the royal family had gone “horribly wrong”, adding: “I was shocked, but if to be completely honest, we all mutter to ourselves, don’t we?
King Charles hugs Prince William and Prince Harry during the royal family’s ski holiday in Klosters, Switzerland, March 31, 2005.
The journalist, who has covered the royal family since 1998, said in September he would retire next year. He joined the broadcaster as a news trainee in 1976.
King Charles was holidaying at the Klosters resort when he attacked Mr Witchell, who asked him: “May I ask how you, Princes William and Harry, are feeling ahead of the wedding?”
Talking to TelegraphThe journalist said he hoped with his question to convince Prince Harry and William to “approve the wedding.”
“But it all went horribly wrong,” he said.
Witchell admitted he was “shocked” when King Charles called him “horrible” during an infamous TV interview.
“People were not in the best mood that morning. In fact, this sounds like the most stupid and pretentious question: “How do you feel about the wedding?”
“But if you sort of unpack it, as the then Prince of Wales immediately did… I could see his face had changed color somewhat.”
Charles initially interrupted him before Mr Witchell finished his question by saying: “You’ve heard about it, haven’t you?”
William said politely: “Very happy, very satisfied. It’ll be a good day.
Before launching into his rant, Charles said again: “I’m still very glad you heard about it.”
Aides speculated that Charles was annoyed that William and Kate Middleton – then the prince’s girlfriends – had been photographed the day before.
Paddy Harverson, Charles’s press secretary at the time, said: “We understand we can’t stop photographers from taking these photographs, but we hope every year that they will respect the privacy of family and friends and their need for a private holiday.”
In 2005, Prince Charles, as he was then, insulted the BBC’s royal correspondent Nicholas Witchell.
Mr Harverson later said: “Nicholas was in the line of fire when the prince expressed his general frustration with the paparazzi and it spilled over to the first person to ask the question,” he said.
“It wasn’t personal. He regrets saying that. He really didn’t want to take it out on Nicholas.
Over the weekend, Mr Witchell said Charles had not apologized, but he had not expected it.
He said there was “no contact” between the pair for “several years” before they “became close” in Saudi Arabia.
Mr Witchell delivered confirmed news of the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, on August 31, 1997, and also provided live radio commentary from outside Westminster Abbey at her funeral.
The 70-year-old first joined the BBC after graduating in law from the University of Leeds and then became a reporter for the BBC in Northern Ireland in 1979, where he covered the assassination of Earl Mountbatten and the IRA hunger strikes.