How Prince Charles Almost Lost His Hong Kong Handover Speech Years Ago

Prince Charles almost lost his handover speech in Hong Kong after a staff member nearly threw the piece of paper in the trash bin.

The event took place on June 30, 1997, and it was a memorable gathering because Prince Charles was drenched in rainwater as he stood alongside Governor Chris Patten.

Just minutes before giving his speech, Prince Charles realized that he lost the paper where the text is written. Robert Hardman, the author of “Queen of the World,” Lieutenant Commander John Lavery placed Prince Charles’ speech on his seat for safekeeping.

“As the Pipes and Drums of the Black Watch ushered all the military detachments into the center of the parade square, Lavery reached for the Prince’s speech. It was not there,” Hardman wrote (via The Telegraph).

A frantic Lavery went in search for Prince Charles speech, and he saw a worker emptying out the contents of a trashcan. Lavery found the speech, extracted it, and returned to the VIP grandstand where he handed it to Prince Charles.

“The proceedings were not helped by a tropical downpour, which in the absence of covered grandstands, drenched all those without an umbrella – including the Prince himself. Dressed in full Royal Navy uniform, he at least had the luxury of a peaked cap. The outgoing governor, Chris Patten, looked as if he had gone swimming fully clothed,” Hardman wrote.

In related news, Prince Charles also made headlines after it was revealed that he wasn’t happy when he learned that his second child was another boy. In “Diana: Her True Story,” it was revealed that he uttered an insensitive joke to Princess Diana after their son was born.

“Charles always wanted a girl. Harry was a boy. His first comment was, ‘Oh God, it’s a boy.’ His second, ‘And he’s even got red hair,’” the author wrote.

Prince Charles thought that his joke would make Princess Diana laugh, but it hurt her to the core. This became one of the reasons why the couple became so distant from each other.