How a single photo of an Aussie model stealing a kiss from Prince Charles sparked a global sensation - and changed the future king's image forever

It is the seaside kiss that sent shockwaves around the globe and - 45 years on - is still talked about every time King Charles visits Australia.

Charles was one of the world's most eligible bachelors when he visited Cottesloe Beach, in Western Australia , as part of a royal tour commemorating the 150th anniversary of British settlement Down Under back in 1979.

The 30-year-old heir to the throne was making the most of the seaside stopover by hitting the surf in his trucks when local beauty Jane Priest swooped in for a kiss.

The moment, caught on camera, was splashed across the front page of newspapers around the world, and catapulted the 26-year-old single mum and part-time model to international stardom.

The photos of the then Prince of Wales, wearing nothing but his bathers and a broad smile, also worked wonders for his image back home in England.

And that was just the idea.

Ms Priest has since revealed that the whole encounter had been a carefully staged 'publicity stunt' designed to make the young prince look more approachable.

Although it appeared like an impromptu peak on the cheek, she had actually been summoned to meet the Charles the night before the encounter to ensure she fit the bill as an attractive, young, fun-loving Aussie.

'It's when I see pictures of Charles that it all comes flooding back,' she told London's Evening Standard newspaper in 2004.

'I was in my mid-twenties, here was one of the most powerful men in the world and he was absolutely adorable. I was totally overawed for those couple of minutes.

'My meeting with Charles on the beach wasn't my suggestion, it was theirs.

'It was a PR thing to try and make Charles more accessible.'

Ms Priest revealed she made her now famous move on the prince while her little five-year-old son, Simon, sat building sandcastles on the beach mere metres away.

But not everything went according to plan.

'It was a set-up photograph of the Prince of Wales meeting an Australian native, but he threw a spanner in the works,' she told the Evening Standard.

Even though she had her hair and make-up done especially for the moment, well-aware it would be captured on film, the bashful prince decided to play hard to get.

'When he saw me he dived into the water, so I thought I'd follow him in, but as I went in, he got out,' she said.

'So I followed him out, hair ruined, make-up ruined, and I felt like such an idiot.

'I actually went and put my hands on his chest to give him a kiss and Charles said: "No, I can't touch you, I can't touch you."'

Her stunning looks graced the cover of Australia's Playboy in the early 1980s and she has since semi-retired to occasional TV commercials and other work.

Now 71, she lives a quiet life at a sandstone mansion fit for a princess in Sydney's northern suburbs while her son is a scientist.

Charles returned to Perth in 2015 for another tour where he was accompanied by his now-wife Camilla.

The soon-to-be king alluded to the sneaky kiss when asked to to recount his warmest memories from the city.

'These memories are of enormous importance to me, and also all the memories of all the kindness you've shown me, and the fun I've had in this part of the world,' he said.

'Recollections of swimming very early in the morning down the beach, when one or two people were detailed off to run up from the surf and do unmentionable things to me.'

Ms Priest also reminisced in 2012 when she conceded that she was never going to become 'Queen Jane'.

'Apart from anything else my background wasn't clean enough,' she said.

King Charles landed back in Australia for the first time since his coronation in 2022 on Friday.

He will tour Sydney and Canberra meeting with supporters and leaders during the five-day tour.