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Prince Charles pokes fun at Cheryl's changing surnames

The Prince of Wales joked about the singer's different last names over the years

prince charles laughs at cheryls surname
Hanna Fillingham
US Managing Editor
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Prince Charles had his audience laughing on Tuesday as he gave a speech at the star-studded Prince's Trust Awards in London. As well as paying tribute to the award winners, Charles also spoke fondly about Cheryl – who has been an ambassador for the charity for many years. Joking about her changing surnames over the years, which have included Cole, Fernandez-Versini, then simply Cheryl, before she decided to revert back to her maiden name, Tweedy, Charles said: "I thought to myself some time ago, who’s Cheryl Tweedy? I suddenly realised that I knew the Cheryl bit. I’d missed out on the Tweedy." Likening her name changes to company rebrandings, he added: "I can’t keep up with all the changes of names that the companies do either."

prince charles laughs at cheryls surname© Photo: Getty Images

Prince Charles laughed about not being able to keep up with Cheryl's different surnames

During his speech, Charles also made a joke about Sir Tom Jones, 77, who at one point struggled to see the autocue while presenting student Jaidah Thomas the Ascential Educational Achiever of the Year Award. "That’s a long way away," he said, which was met with laughter from the audience. “It wasn’t that far away in the Sixties.” After attempting to carry on reading Jaidah’s story, Tom eventually asked singer Olly Murs to take over for him.

RELATED: Cheryl has her say on Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's wedding

prince charles laughs at cheryl© Photo: Getty Images

Prince Charles had the audience in stitches at the star-studded awards ceremony

The ceremony was held at the London Palladium and hosted by popular comedy duo Ant and Dec. Other guests in attendance included GMB presenter Kate Garraway, Spice Girl Mel C, and Tom and Giovanna Fletcher. The awards recognised disadvantaged young people who have improved their chances in life and have had a positive impact on their local community.

At the event, Prince Charles also got to meet Olivia Colman, who is set to portray his mum, the Queen, in the new series of The Crown. Chatting to ITV News, Olivia revealed that he wasn’t aware of her part in the popular show. "I'm really pleased he didn’t know, what do you say?" she laughed.

RELATED: Will Prince Charles miss the arrival of Prince William and Kate Middleton's third baby?