'I think the late Queen would have liked to bury me in a coffin full of rats!'

For 35 years, Jennie Bond has reported from a front row seat as royal history unfolds. In OK!'s exclusive interview, she recalls being on the receiving end of Queen Elizabeth's "icy stare" and the night she kept King Charles awake

- REBECCA RUSSELL

From joking with the late Queen about a horse who blew raspberries to being told by Diana, Princess of Wales, not to wear yellow because it “doesn’t suit her”, former BBC royal correspondent Jennie Bond has an enviable number of stories to tell from a lifetime working in close proximity to the Crown.

But behind her tales of a career up close and personal with the monarchy – “I remember being laughed at by the King for stumbling around a muddy field in white stilettos. He shouted, ‘Wrong shoes, Miss Bond!’” – lies a woman who for the last 35 years has watched royal history unfold from a coveted front-row seat.

During an exclusive OK! shoot to celebrate this milestone, we caught up with the 73-year-old queen of royal reporting, who became the BBC’s royal correspondent in 1989, to reflect on her career and discover why family now comes first.

“I can’t believe that I’ve been doing this gig for 35 years,” laughs Jennie, a vision in hues of blush pink and scarlet red, as she poses for the camera in the queenly manner that once famously led her BBC colleagues to describe her as “more royal than the royals”.

“I was a general reporter at BBC television when I was asked to become the royal correspondent. It was a job I really didn’t want. I didn’t know where it was going, I thought it was a bit flimsy, a bit flippant – a bit shallow really. I said I’d do it for one year… And here I am 35 years later still talking about the royals!”