Guests at Mr Witchell’s retirement party at Broadcasting House were taken aback when King Charles delivered a pre-recorded message joking about the pairs “ups and downs” during the journalist’s 25 years covering the Royal Family.
One attendee, who asked not to be named, told the Mail: “It did come as a surprise to everyone there including Nicholas. I think it would be fair to say the King’s message was generous and warm-hearted.”
Mr Witchell, who announced his retirement last October and clocked up almost 50 years of service at the BBC, refused to disclose the contents of the King’s message but said: “Yes, there were a couple of messages – one of which was certainly a surprise.”
His bemusement is hardly surprising, given the pair’s decades-long feud that originated when the royal made a disparaging remark about the journalist.
In 2005, when Charles was on holiday in the Swiss Alps with Princes William and Harry, the royal appeared unimpressed by one of Mr Witchell’s questions during a photocall.
The journalist had asked about his upcoming marriage to Camilla Parker Bowles, prompting Charles to mutter under his breath: “Bloody people. I can’t bear that man. I mean he is so awful, he really is.”
His remarks to his sons were clearly picked up on the microphones.
Last year, Mr Witchell spoke about the incident and said he “was a bit taken aback” by the remarks and admitted that despite remaining on the royal beat, he barely ever spoke to Charles again.
But the pair recently patched things up, with the King agreeing to become patron of the Normandy Memorial Trust, a charity co-founded by Mr Witchell, in 2019.
A BBC source said “everyone is pleased the King has buried the hatchet”.
