Jennie Bond
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Jennie Bond (born 19th August 1950) is a British journalist. She worked for 13 years as the BBC's royal correspondent.
Jennie Bond was educated at Warwick University, from where she graduated with a degree in French and European Literature in 1968. Her career began in the print where she worked for various local newspapers in London in journalist and sub-editing roles. In 1977 she moved to BBC radio, working in producing and editing. In 1985 she became a radio news reporter. In 1988 she moved on to report on television. She began her role as royal correspondent, which was to bring her to wide public attention, in 1989.
Bond held position until the summer of 2003. During that time she reported on many dramatic events in the British Royal Family, including two royal weddings, the divorce of Charles, Prince of Wales and Diana, Princess of Wales and Diana's subsequent death and the Queen and Prince Philip's Golden Jubilee celebrations. Bond's reporting style suggested that she was very close personally to members of the Royal Family. She wrote a book in 2001 called Reporting Royalty, which tells how she reporting the Royal Family for the BBC in the 1990's. Impressionists such as Ronni Ancona took to spoofing Bond's royal reports by posing as Bond and pretending to be the Queen herself, crown and all.
Following from her departure from the BBC, Bond's career took a different turn. In February 2004 she finished runner-up in the third series of reality tv show I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here! Shortly afterwards she presented E!'s coverage of the BAFTA film awards, "Live from the Red Carpet." She also presented her own three part documentery called Jennie Bond's Royals on Five and in 2005, she presented the BBC's daytime coverage of the Chelsea Flower Show, alongside Charlie Dimmock. Bond also current works as an after dinner speaker, offering insider tales from her time at the palace.
She is married to a former journalist, Jim Keltz and they have one daughter together. She also has two step children, Stephen and Danielle.
External references
- BBC profile (http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/correspondents/newsid_2631000/2631425.stm)
- Bond's profile at "Speaker's for Business" (http://www.sfb.co.uk/cgi-bin/profile.cgi?s=158)