The King of Bondi: How Charles fell in love with Sydney and its iconic surf beach as a gawky young teenager – and it’s never lost its grip on him
It was the start of a love affair between the future King Charles and one of the most iconic beaches in his realm, Bondi.
As a 17-year-old schoolboy, Prince Charles first graced the golden sands of Sydney’s Bondi Beach on a winter’s day in late May 1966.
The wind was blowing and even the Prince told the 16 lifeguards from the North Bondi Surf Life Saving Club, who formed a guard of honor to welcome him, that they were probably freezing in their swimsuits.
Charles watched a demonstration of surfing techniques, chatted with lifeguard Jim Turney and was greeted with a march past club members, all organized by Kerwin Maegraith.
Maegraith, a life member at North Bondi and newspaper cartoonist with connections to the royal family, had negotiated the visit for months while Charles was attending school in Australia.
Charles would later describe his time at Geelong Church of England Grammar School, on the Timbertop campus, as the happiest and most formative of his education.
Prince Charles, 17, visited Bondi Beach for the first time and enjoyed a relaxing visit, which ultimately led to him being given a traditional surf lifesaver patrol cap to wear
At Bondi Beach in 1966, Kerwin Maegraith tied a North Bondi lifeguard’s surfing cap on Charles’ head, risking royal protocol, but the schoolboy prince took it in good humour.
After the forbidding Gordonstoun School in Scotland, which he dubbed ‘Colditz in kilts’ after being bullied there, Charles enjoyed camaraderie and shared a sense of humor with his Australian classmates.
On that day in Bondi, Maegraith created a warm atmosphere by tying a North Bondi rescuer surf cap on the prince.
Colored patrol caps are a mandatory part of the surf lifesaver’s uniform so they can be easily spotted in the surf, but tying them to the head of a future king risked royal protocol, especially almost 60 years ago.
Maegraith’s grandson David told Daily Mail Australia that the future king’s “coronation” by his grandfather Larrikin “reflected the relaxed Australian spirit” – and Charles took it in the good humor with which it was intended.
Schoolchildren ganged up on Charles in Bondi on a cold day in May 1966, as the 17-year-old prince made his first visit to Sydney’s iconic beach during his stay in Australia
Charles enjoys a dip in the surf at Bondi Beach during his tour of Australia in 1981
“The moment positioned the club as a cultural bridge between Australia and the monarchy, bringing together two traditions: saving Australian surfing lives and deepening the British monarchy’s relationship with the country,” Maegraith’s son said.
In Bondi, Charles spent a few hours on the beach, got his feet wet, was mobbed by a group of schoolchildren and caught a plane back to Timbertop, where he said goodbye a month later with a rousing ‘Three Cheers… for the pommie’ . hybrid’.
The visit foreshadowed his future return to Bondi Beach in the decades before his eventual coronation.
In 1974, Charles enjoyed the first of many swims at Bondi Beach and revisited the Geelong Grammar.
Charles tried his hand at surfing during the Bondi holiday in 1977 during an extended tour of Australia on behalf of the Queen during her Silver Jubilee celebrations.
In 1981, three months before his wedding to Princess Diana, he returned and took a dip with his bodyguard, John McClean.
Charles has returned to Bondi several times. During his Diamond Jubilee Tour in 2012, he walked on the sand in a suit instead of taking a dip and watched an NRL community football match on the beach.
Prince Charles runs in the surf at Bondi while taking time off during his official Australian tour in 1981, three months before his wedding to Princess Diana
Kerwin Maegraith’s joke cartoon about Prince Charles’ ‘coronation’ wearing a surf lifesaver patrol cap
Bondi Beach was one of his sons, Prince Harry’s first stops on his 2018 tour with his new bride Meghan.
On this highly anticipated 17th trip to Australia, his first as monarch, King Charles will host events in Sydney and Canberra, including a barbecue in western Sydney and a review of the naval fleet in Sydney Harbour.
After flying to Sydney on Friday evening, King Charles and Queen Camilla have set a personal day of rest on Saturday, taking into account his health following cancer treatment.
Will they sneak off to Bondi for an ice cream and dip? The royal couple are honorary members of the Bondi Surf Bathers’ Life Saving Club.
Club president Liz Webb told Daily Mail Australia that ‘Bondi Surf Club would love to welcome King Charles to Bondi Surf Club on his trip to Australia, and we would also like to welcome Queen Camilla for the first time.
“Our Bondi Surf Club has a rich history of hosting royals and it would be a great honor for our members and our board to welcome them both.”
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