ROYAL PARDON

King Charles Pays Warm Tribute to Retiring Journo He Once Trashed on Hot Mic

The monarch has seemingly changed his mind about the reporter of whom he was once caught saying: “I can’t bear that man.”

King Charles III recorded a “generous and warm-hearted” message to mark the retirement of a BBC journalist whom he once trashed in a notorious hot mic incident, according to a report. The personalized tribute was played at the retirement party of royal correspondent Nicholas Witchell—and apparently came as a “surprise to everyone there including Nicholas,” an attendee told The Mail on Sunday. The monarch reportedly joked about the “ups and downs” they’d experienced over the course of Witchell’s career. In 2005, Charles was recorded bad-mouthing Witchell during a photocall on a skiing vacation in Switzerland with his sons, Prince Harry and Prince William, after apparently taking exception to one of the BBC journalist’s questions. “Bloody people,” Charles could be heard saying under his breath. “I can’t bear that man. I mean he is so awful, he really is.” Witchell told The Sunday Times in December that he believed Charles was actually upset about an earlier report in which Witchell had likened Charles’ Mediterranean vacation to trips taken by King Edward VIII with Wallis Simpson.