The King has been hailed the "patron saint of second chances" during a star-studded reception at Buckingham Palace attended by George and Amal Clooney.
The monarch met winners of this year’s King's Trust and TK Maxx and Homesense Awards ahead of the presentation ceremony tomorrow, as well as supporters including the Clooneys, actors Dame Joanna Lumley and Joseph Fiennes, cosmetics guru Charlotte Tilbury, musicians the Sugababes and presenters Declan Donnelly, Fearne Cotton and Kate Garraway.
Shakespeare in Love star Joseph, a King's Trust ambassador said: "In the 25 years I've been doing this, we've just seen a collection of young potential that has been picked up, having been disenfranchised or not given the right opportunities. So I said to His Majesty, maybe it was inappropriate, 'You are the patron saint of second chances'. And given young potential, second chances is just vital. The cost of living, mental crisis after Covid, this deep rupture in our psyche, especially for the youth has been massive.”
Asked how the King had responded, he joked, "I hope rather well. I'm still here!"
© Getty ImagesHollywood star George and his human rights lawyer wife Amal joined Alice from Kenya, winner of the Amal Clooney Woman’s Empowerment Award. Alice, 19, was recognised for turning traditional beaded products into a lifeline to support her family and enable other young girls in her community to make a living.
Alice, who has taught the traditional craft to more than 100 other young women, said of the Clooneys, "They are really intelligent people, I really liked them." She was overawed by meeting the King, describing the moment as "heaven".
© Getty ImagesCharlotte, a King’s Trust ambassador for enterprise, described the monarch as a "global visionary", adding, "He's always been ahead of his time, if you think about what he did with climate change, understanding how he can help communities, help young people."
After chatting to the girl group Sugababes - Mutya Buena, Keisha Buchanan, Siobhán Donaghy - who will open and close the Awards ceremony at London's Royal Festival Hall, Charles spoke to Radio 1 DJ Melvin Odoom.
© Future Image/F Kern/ShutterstockThe broadcaster, who will be playing a DJ set for those arriving on the red carpet, asked the King, "Any tunes you want, let me know," and said later "He asked for the Sugababes CD to be played." He joked: "I didn't want to say to him we don't use CDs anymore, I'm using USB, but I'll drop the Sugababes."
The girl group have just finished a tour and Buchanan said: "That's very very cool to know the King has requested us. We said to the King we've been around for 25 years and he was like wow, he was a bit taken a back. He said he wanted a CD and we think we'll introduce him to Overload first - he was really lovely."
© GettyThe King appeared moved by his conversation with Brandon Hulcoop, who presented him with an image of the royal family on the Buckingham Palace balcony printed in raised ink so it can be "seen" by visually impaired people. It was displayed alongside a Braille image of the King and Queen which Brandon had sent the monarch last year.
The winner of the NatWest Thrive Enterprise Award, from Plymouth, was born blind and unable to find work until he took part in the King’s Trust's Enterprise course, gaining the skills and support he needed to set up his own business producing Braille products. Charles grasped his hand to shake it before asking about Brandon's business, All Things Dotty.
© Getty Images"It wouldn’t have happened if it hadn't be for you, sir," he told the King. "I don’t know what I would have done."
Speaking afterwards, Brandon said: "I explained that I hope to get restaurant menus in on the action. We’ve set up a petition to try and make it a legal requirement for restaurants to take in braille menus."
© Getty ImagesThere was another touching exchange between the young businessman and the King as they posed for a group photograph with other winners and supporters.
"Someone said, 'if you can't see the camera, the camera can't see you'. And I turned around and said, 'I can't see the camera anyway.' His Majesty turned to me and said, 'Good point. Brandon, you make that point.' He said, 'it must be hard, you don't know which camera to look at.' It was wonderful to meet him."
© Getty ImagesCharles founded the King’s Trust International at the 2015 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Malta and since then it has supported 100,000 young people in 20 countries across the globe.
Announcing an ambition to reach one million young people within the next decade, its CEO Will Straw thanked supporters, ambassadors, staff and volunteers before turning to the King to say: "But Sir, we must thank you above everyone for your leadership, your role as our royal founding president. The bold vision you had in 1976 still endures today because of your unstinting vision and belief in young people's potential."
© Getty ImagesCharles then cut into a large sponge cake, joking, “One of you might get lucky!” as he removed a slice and placed it on top.
Baked at Buckingham Palace, the cake was decorated with the Prince's Trust International logo with help from Roslyn, 18, from St Lucia, winner of the Global Young Achiever Award "It's fantastic," he said as he looked at the inside.
© Getty ImagesDec – who appeared without his partner Ant, who was travelling back to the UK from a holiday in time to present the awards ceremony, was joined instead by his wife Alison. "This will be our 13th year doing the awards – let’s hope it goes well. I'm going with it's a lucky 13," he told the King.
The monarch asked after the couple's children, saying, "do they get on alright?"
© Getty ImagesSpeaking afterwards the presenter said, "My son is coming up to three now, he's a crazy one. And he [the King] said, 'Is he one of these that jumps and dive bombs in the pool and sinks at the bottom?' Yeah, that's him. He's obviously got experience with that with some of the grandkids. I would have thought."
He said the monarch had offered to write him some jokes: "He said he'd jot some down, he's going to do a bit of scriptwriting for us. It's always gratefully received."
© Getty ImagesHe said the King was "really chatty today," adding: "He was on really good form, in a very good mood, which is lovely. He's great, he's got a twinkle in his eye, he's got a fantastic sense of humour, and he's genuinely interested in people, and especially on days like today, interested in all of the young people."
Dec, who along with Ant is a Goodwill Ambassador for the Trust, said of the monarch: "You know, he started the trust in 1976, to see the fruits of that now almost 50 years on, must be incredibly rewarding for him. And it's done what he set out to do all those years ago."
© Getty ImagesDame Joanna said the King’s Trust was needed now, "more than ever as the world gets darker and darker" and praised the King for creating the Trust almost half a century ago.
"He didn't just get the charity off the shelf," she said. "He thought, 'how can I help the dispossessed, the ones who have actually skidded through the railings and gone down the gutter, how can I help those people?' Because there’s help for lots of young people, all commendable at different levels, of the charities. He seems to have plunged in deeper in a more profound and daring way."
© Getty ImagesThe veteran actress, who is a personal friend of the monarch, added: “I cannot commend him highly enough… as King, I think he's going to be the best within recorded history. Utterly exceptional in every way.”
Other celebrity supporters included model and actress Rosie Huntington-Whitely, actor and rapper Michael Dapaah, actors Tom Davis and James Nelson-Joyce, singer Rochelle Humes, magician Steven Frayne, aka Dynamo, reality stars Sam Thompson, Jamie Laing and Sophie Habboo, DJ Cuppy, Tiktok star Max Balegde.
The reception was filmed by a crew working on a forthcoming Netflix documentary about the King's Trust in collaboration with the actor Idris Elba, who was supported by the Prince's Trust as an aspiring actor.
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© PA Images via Getty ImagesPhilanthropic power couple
In 2016, Amal and George co-founded the Clooney Foundation for Justice (CFJ). The Foundation provides free legal aid in defence of free speech and women's rights in over 40 countries.
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© GettyHuman Rights Lawyer
Barrister Amal has long been hailed for her work for defending women's and human rights issues across the world.
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© Getty ImagesInside the reception
Amal posing with Alice at the reception.
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© PA Images via Getty ImagesDame Joanna Lumley
The King chatting with Dame Joanna Lumley as Rosie Huntington-Whiteley looks on.
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© PA Images via Getty ImagesSophie Habboo and Jamie Laing
Made In Chelsea's Sophie Habboo and Jamie Laing, who are expecting their first child, were among the guests at the reception
