Jennie Bond is kicking off diamond jubilee celebrations with a concert at the Philharmonic Hall. Here she shares some of her favourite memories of life as a royal correspondent with Laura Davis

THE year Jennie Bond became the BBC’s royal correspondent was the Queen’s 37th as monarch of Great Britain. She was an experienced radio producer but, with only one year as a TV news reporter, a relative unknown.

The next decade and a half would not only swiftly turn Bond into a household name but would be a tumultuous time for the Windsors.

In 1990, Elizabeth II attended a fly-past and parade to commemorate the Battle of Britain’s 50th anniversary. Just months later the country was back at war, with British forces travelling to the Gulf to drive Iraqi armies from occupied Kuwait.

But it was conflict among the Royal Family’s own ranks that Bond remembers the most.

“In all my years of royal reporting, nothing could rival the extraordinary events of 1992,” says Bond, who is presenting the concert A Celebration of the Queen’s Jubilee at the Philharmonic Hall on Saturday.

“One after another, major stories broke about various members of the Royal Family including the announcement that Charles and Diana were separating, as did Sarah Ferguson and Prince Andrew.

“Windsor Castle was ravaged by fire and the Queen made her poignant ‘Annus Horribilis’ speech at London’s Guildhall. It all added up to a frantic year of reporting.”

In smart hats of varying shades and sizes, Bond has reported on garden parties, state visits, royal funerals and elaborate weddings.

One highlight was the Queen’s visit to South Africa in 1995. The reporter stood on the quayside in Cape Town to watch the royal yacht Britannia sailing into view under a sunny sky.

“Nelson Mandela was like a school kid,” she recalls, “jigging around in excitement as he waited to welcome the Queen back to South Africa for the first time in almost 50 years.

“At a reception on board the royal yacht the next day, the Queen herself told me how excited she was to see Africa again.”

And there’s no forgetting the quaintly English appeal of the Palace garden parties.

“Everything is very well ordered, the rows of tents along one side of the gardens provide a classy buffet – tables laden with tiny cakes, perfectly shaped sandwiches, fine china tea-cups with the Palace’s special brew,” says Bond.