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A resurfaced video of what seemed at the time to be an assassination attempt on then-Prince Charles is going viral in the wake of the attempt on Donald Trump’s life this weekend.
The King, now 75, was unphased when he was fired at during an event in Sydney, Australia in 1994, and proceeded to fix his cufflinks while his assailant was tackled by security.
One of the men who tackled the gunman, Ian Kiernan, told the LA Times that the royal was as “cool as a cucumber” when faced with the possibility of a shooting.
David Kang, 23, fired a shot from an estimated six metres from the now-King before he was apprehended. It later emerged that he had used blank shots in what was a protest over the treatment of Cambodian asylum seekers in Australia.
The Australian prime minister, Paul Keating, later said that while it was not the assassination attempt it appeared to be, he was still “embarrassed” by the incident.
“Prince Charles is a good friend of this country and he should be treated with the respect and dignity that a good friend deserves,” he said at the time.
“His control in the circumstances, I think, reflected the professional attitude that he has... the important thing to record about this is that it was not an assassination attempt. It was a political demonstration.”
The resurfaced clip comes amid today’s revelation that the monarch has reached out to Trump after Saturday’s assassination attempt in a private message.
King Charles III, then Prince of Wales, deals with shots fired at him in Sydney in 1994. pic.twitter.com/vlDJUvieYN
— Bobbie (@bo66ie29) July 14, 2024
According to reports, Charles took the opportunity to condemn the US’s ongoing gun violence problem and to send his best wishes to all injured by the event.
Trump, who has said he is fine after sustaining a minor injury to his ear on Saturday, credited God with saving his life and called for unity on his Truth social media platform.
“We will FEAR NOT, but instead remain resilient in our Faith and Defiant in the face of Wickedness,” Trump wrote on Sunday.
“In this moment, it is more important than ever that we stand United, and show our True Character as Americans, remaining Strong and Determined, and not allowing Evil to Win.
“It was God alone who prevented the unthinkable from happening.”
Two people lost their lives in the incident, including the shooter, and another two were left critically injured.
Kang, who fired the blank shots at Charles in 1994, faced up to 20 years in prison for the attack but was ultimately sentenced to 500 hours of community service for threatening unlawful violence.
It was reported at the time that Buckingham Palace had asked for low-level security between the prince and the Australian public.
Police Minister Terry Griffiths later said that this request would no longer be honoured and that security was to be tightened.
