‘I felt like such an idiot’: Story behind famous Charles kissing photo

It’s been four decades since an Aussie model was snapped kissing a young Prince Charles. The real story behind it is wild.

It was an image which would make front pages all over the world.

A young King Charles, then the Prince of Wales, being kissed on a Perth beach by a 26-year-old Aussie model.

It was March 1979, and the 30-year-old royal was visiting Australia with his mother when he was photographed at Cottesloe beach, 14km from Perth’s CBD.

As he emerged from the water, model Jane Priest ran up to the heir, placed her hands on his shoulders and planted a kiss on his cheek.

The seemingly impromptu “Bond” moment was captured on camera and beamed around the globe.

But it wasn’t exactly as candid as it appeared.

Prince Charles was kissed by Jane Priest as he merged from the water at Cottesloe beach in Perth, during his 1979 tour of Australia Picture: © Hulton-Deutsch Collection/CORBIS/Corbis/Getty.

Speaking to London’s Evening Standardnewspaper over 30 years later, Ms Priest revealed the photo was set up to make Charles appear “more accessible”.

The young model had even met with Charles the night before to make sure she was suitable for the job.

“My meeting with Charles on the beach wasn’t my suggestion, it was theirs,” she said.

“It was a set-up photograph of the Prince of Wales meeting an Australian native.”

But on the day, Charles “threw a spanner in the works”.

When the Prince saw Ms Priest on the beach, he dived into the water.

“So I thought I’d follow him in, but as I went in, he got out,” she explained.

“So I followed him out, hair ruined, make-up ruined, and I felt like such an idiot.

“I actually went and put my hands on his chest to give him a kiss and Charles said: ‘No, I can’t touch you, I can’t touch you.’”

Ms Priest quickly kissed Charles on the cheek in the famous moment.

“I was in my mid-20s. Here was one of the most powerful men in the world and he was absolutely adorable,” she said.

“I was totally overawed for those couple of minutes.”

A then Prince Charles was visiting Australia in 1979. Picture: Supplied.

Behind the scenes, Ms Priest’s then five-year-old son Simon, who would go on to become a scientist, was sitting waiting on the beach building sandcastles.

Looking back, Ms Priest said she knew the opportunity wasn’t going to lead anywhere beyond a famous photo and “five minutes of fame”.

“I was never going to be Queen Jane, let me tell you. Apart from anything else, my background wasn’t clean enough.”

After making waves with her famous beach photo, the mother of one went on to enjoy a successful modelling and television career, before marrying self-made millionaire John Baylis – her second husband.

As for Charles, he returned to Cottesloe beach 36 years later, where he celebrated a his 67th birthday with a barbecue during a 12-day tour of Australia and New Zealand with his wife Queen Camilla in 2015.

Queen Camilla an King Charles – then Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall – attended a beachside barbecue in celebration of the 67th birthday of His Royal Highness at the Cottesloe Civic Centre. Picture: Marie Nirme

The King and Queen will return to Australia on Friday for a short tour five-day tour of Canberra and Sydney.

The historic trip will be the King’s 15th visit to Australia but his first since becoming monarch.

It will also be his first overseas visit since taking the throne following the death of his mother Queen Elizabeth II two years ago and his first since his cancer diagnosis earlier this year.

He will touch down in Sydney on Friday evening.