ROYAL legends have told how they saw a “pile of bodies” when the future King Charles was almost shot.

Prince Charles, as he was then known, was targeted by protester David Kang at an Australia Day speech in Sydney in 1994.

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A bodyguard throwing himself in front of Prince Charles
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A bodyguard throwing himself in front of Prince CharlesCredit: AP:Associated Press

Protester David Kang fired two blank shots from a starting pistol
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Protester David Kang fired two blank shots from a starting pistolCredit: AFP

Jennie Bond and Arthur Edwards speaking at The Sun's Royal Exclusive show
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Jennie Bond and Arthur Edwards speaking at The Sun’s Royal Exclusive showCredit: David Dyson – The Sun
Kang, then 23, fired two blank shots from a starting pistol – but for a moment onlookers thought he had tried to kill Charles.

Veteran Sun royal snapper Arthur Edwards recounted the “terrifying” attack at our first ever Royal Exclusive show.

He was joined by former BBC royal correspondent Jennie Bond – who shared her own memories of the chilling scenes.

Arthur said: “I was walking back to start my pool – when you assembled to take photographs of an event.

“I heard these two shots go off – I ran around the front and saw a pile of bodies.

“I thought, my God, Charles is under that. I rushed up onto the stage and this policeman threw me right off.”

But Arthur said he glimpsed an unruffled Charles straightening his suit and cufflinks before the prince was bundled away.

Jennie added: “We’d all gone to get a transcript of an important speech he was going to make later that night.

“It was a bit of a boring event he was at and I thought I’d go back to the hotel and start doing a piece.

“I realised I’d left my handbag back with the cameraman so I ran back to get it.

“Then BANG – I thought ‘What’s happening?’ It was terrifying. I remember people rushing and photographers falling over.”

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.

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.

OUT WITH A KANG

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.”

The pair spoke on our first Royal Exclusive Live show, which you can watch in the player above and on our YouTube channel.

The event was hosted on Friday in front of a live audience of more than 100 special guests.