King Charles had remarkable reaction to failed assassination attempt

King Charles III was formally proclaimed King last Saturday (10 September) during the Accession Council at St James's Palace.

Take a look at how the new head of state reacted to the shots:

Kang, a university student at the time, stated that his actions were a protest against the 'extremely traumatic experience' of more than 100 Cambodian asylum seekers held in detention camps in the country.

The short clip shows the then-future-King stand up and approach the podium to speak to the crowd at Darling Harbour.

One shot from the starting pistol fired out, immediately capturing Charles' attention.

While adjusting his cuffs, a second shot rang out and the former Prince of Wales averted his gaze to look at where the shots were coming from.

Within seconds, an entourage of personnel and bodyguards wrestled the university student to the floor and removed him from the stage.

Charles, however, appeared to be totally unfazed by the whole ordeal.

Kang was later found guilty of threatening unlawful violence and sentenced to 500 hours of community service.

"To think about it even now unsettles me a little bit... what happened back then was extremely traumatic and the effect it had on my family was deeply upsetting."

Describing the event, Kang added: "Everything turned funny, turned quiet. I slipped the starting pistol out and stood up. I had to jump the picket fence.

"I heard a bang, then another bang... I'd shot the gun into the air, I didn't aim at anything. I thought I'd dropped the gun before I hit the stage, but it was still in my hand.

"I didn't trip on the stage, I deliberately fell, because I didn't have any intention to hurt anyone."

He added that he couldn't 'believe' that he survived the attempt: "I could hardly believe that I'd reached the stage, and when I slid across, nothing had happened to me, nobody had touched me."

Kang's father, Robert, also commented on the matter and the fact that his son had been able to move on from the event.

"I think he is happy now," he said at the time, "He got his wig last year and is a barrister now."

"The speed they reacted was terrible," wrote one, while another said about King Charles: "He looked confused."

Someone who claims to have been in the crowd at the time added: "I was there as a student. It was an Australia Day celebration, 26 January 1994.

"There were many school groups there, I was sitting just behind the stage out of view of the video with a mass of kids who were part of a choir, singing back up vocals to Kate Ceberano!

"As a 14-year-old, it was quite scary seeing it unfold right in front of us. He fired a starter gun, pretty much a cap gun, but we didn't know that at the time."