King Charles and Queen Camilla have arrived at a star-studded bash to celebrate the 50th anniversary of The King’s Trust.
The event is being held at the Royal Albert Hall in Kensington Gore, South Kensington, tonight to mark half a century of the charity – formerly titled The Prince’s Trust and founded by Charles in 1976.
The King and Queen arrived at around 6.20pm this evening before heading inside for the special celebration, which is also hosting stars including Lily Collins, George Clooney and Rita Ora.
The event will bring together King’s Trust ambassadors, alumni, staff and volunteers to honour the work of the charity, which supports young people aged 11 to 30 with education, training, and finding jobs.
The evening will also celebrate the achievements of the people it has supported over the past 50 years.
On arrival at the Royal Albert Hall, Charles and Camilla were introduced to King’s Trust Ambassadors and their hosts for the evening, Ant and Dec.
The couple then schmoozed with the Clooneys – with lawyer Amal telling Charles she was ‘proud and grateful’ to be involved in the charity.
Meanwhile, George looked blown away as he shook the monarch’s hand before placing his own on his heart, saying: ‘What can I say? Thank you for inviting me. We very much much appreciate it. Thank you.’
King Charles and Queen Camilla arrive at A King’s Trust Celebration to celebrate the 50th anniversary of The King’s Trust
Charles and Camilla walk with hosts of the evening Ant and Dec as they arrive for the bash
Camilla looks elegant in a blue gown and purple coat as she walks the red carpet with Charles
Charles shakes hands with Dec as they greet each other upon their arrival at the celebration
Charles and Camilla take their seats for A King’s Trust celebration at the Royal Albert Hall
Charles shakes hands with actor George Clooney, who places his own hand on his chest
In one of the more eye-catching moments of the royal calendar, Queen Camilla – dressed in an electric blue lace evening dress with a purple cape over her shoulders – chatted with the Clooneys about make-up.
Seemingly admiring Amal’s glittering look, which complemented her shimmering gold evening gown, she told her that it was by Charlotte Tilbury, with Camilla, apparently a fellow Tilbury fan, chatting animatedly as George nodded his head in agreement.
Fellow guest Tilbury, who founded the billion-pound brand, confirmed she was both responsible for Amal’s make-up and that the Queen wore her products too.
‘Yes she does darling, she said. ‘Pillow Talk [her best-selling lipstick] isn’t the number one selling lipstick in the world for nothing!’
Afterwards George, who was standing next to star-struck Naina Chauhan , winner of the women’s empowerment award, said: ‘What an event, isn’t it? What a truly wonderful moment for these young people. An incredible night. ‘
A King’s Trust Celebration, which brought together ambassadors, alumni, staff and volunteers, to celebrate the work of the charity and the many achievements of the young people it has supported, saw the royal couple earlier on the red carpet.
They were greeted by King’s Trust Ambassadors and hosts for the evening, Ant and Dec.
The King told them they never looked any older every time he saw them. ‘It’s all make-up ,’ Ant joked.
Also inside in the arrival line-up was Lily Collins, Benedict Cumberbatch, Kate Garraway, Alesha Dixon and Rochelle Humes.
Camilla was delighted to see Dixon again, who told her: ‘I just want to give you a hug.’
She said afterwards: ‘I’ve met her before and she is just the loveliest person. She wanted to chat about Strictly and all sorts of things. Made me really feel like I knew her. She was also lovely to my nan at the garden party I went to with her and I will never forget that.’
Charles shakes hands with a beaming Charlotte Tilbury upon his arrival tonight
The King greets Gareth Southgate at the star-studded event in London this evening
Alesha Dixon smiles as she greets King Charles at his celebratory event in the capital today
During the evening, Their Majesties will meet this year’s King’s Trust award winners, accompanied by their award presenters, as well as Trust ambassadors and performers.
They will also be invited on stage later for a group photo with The King’s Trust award recipients, and a ‘three cheers’ moment with the audience.
Formerly known as The Prince’s Trust, the charity’s ethos is that every young person should have the chance to succeed, no matter what their background or the challenges they face.
It helps those aged 11 to 30 from disadvantaged backgrounds to develop essential life skills, get ready for work and access job opportunities, as well as supporting them to find employment or start their own business.
The King set up the charity in 1976 when he was Prince of Wales using his naval pension at a time when many of his critics believed he should not be getting ‘his hands dirty’ in this way.
Since then it has helped more than 1.3 million young people across the UK reach their potential.
Three in four of those it has supported over the last five years have moved into work, education or training.
Tonight’s event brings together music, comedy and the awards to celebrate the courage, creativity and achievements of young people supported by The King’s Trust in the UK and around the world.
Lily Collins and her husband Charlie McDowell attend A King’s Trust Celebration at Royal Albert Hall tonight
George Clooney and Amal Clooney attend the celebration at Royal Albert Hall this evening
Kate Garraway was beaming as she arrived at the event in a striking red dress and matching shoes
Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly, aka Ant and Dec, attending A King’s Trust Celebration
Earlier today, the King tried his hand at operating a revolutionary surgical robot at a cancer hospital in London by zooming into his own face on a £5 note.
He was given a step by step presentation of the new fifth generation Da Vinci Surgical System, which enables smaller and more precise incisions during bladder surgery.
The robot, which is in the final stages of being approved for use by the NHS, will help to reduce patient operating and recovery time.
After meeting Professor Ben Challacombe, Consultant Urological Surgeon at Guy’s Hospital in London, Charles was offered the chance to sit on a stool and look through a headset to control the robotic hands on an operating table behind him.
On display was a small model of the internal bladder, with a £5 note placed in between it.
Referencing minute text on the note, the professor said: ‘As you can see it is so precise that you can zoom in to such an extent you will see things that the human eye cannot see.
‘This model is not completely licenced in the UK, they are about to launch it in the NHS, but you can actually feel the tension in your own fingers.’
Placing his fingers on the controls, the King struggled at first to get to grips with the mechanism, saying: ‘I think I’ll have to come back after some more training.’
Rita Ora is also in attendance, wearing a pale yellow two-piece with a matching jacket
Charlotte Tilbury arrived at the event wearing a shiny blue and black gown
Gareth Southgate looked smart as he arrived at the event to celebrate 50 years of the charity
Fearne Cotton arrived at the event donning a matching red top and trouser suit
Tasha Ghouri looked striking in a blue gown as she arrived at the star-studded event
Amy Dowden looks stunning in a maroon dress as she attends the royal event tonight
The Da Vinci series of machines have been used on 15,000 patients in the hospital in the last 20 years and two million people worldwide.
The King met patients who are being treated at the Cancer Centre, called Chemotherapy Village, and who could benefit from discoveries by scientists based at the Innovation Hub.
Raymond Burgess, 69, from South London, told the King how his chemotherapy treatment had left him unable to taste certain foods.
Professor Sheila Singh, Professor of Neuro-oncology and Neurosurgery, said: ‘It was an immense privilege to welcome His Majesty to our Innovation Hub, where dedicated colleagues committed to tackling cancer discussed their invaluable work. Innovation really is the key word; King’s is leading the way in rethinking how we treat cancers, putting patients at the centre of everything we do.
‘We’re making live cell avatars of patient cancers and enabling bespoke therapy development for each patient with a difficult-to-treat cancer – and working in collaboration with clinicians at Guy’s helps embed ground-breaking research into patients’ journeys. Being directly above the Chemotherapy Village breaks down barriers between medical professionals, enabling us to analyse patient samples in real-time.
‘Our work at the Innovation Hub is also enhanced by our strong partnerships with key funders, and it was a pleasure to also welcome the CEO of Cancer Research UK (CRUK), Michelle Mitchell, which funds research within the Hub, on the tour.’
Anne-Marie attends ‘A King’s Trust 50th Anniversary Celebration’ at Royal Albert Hall
Talitha Balinska and Sam Thompson attend A King’s Trust 50th Anniversary Celebration
Earlier today, Charles tried his hand at operating a revolutionary surgical robot at a cancer hospital in London by zooming into his own face on £5 note
He was given a step by step presentation of the new fifth generation Da Vinci Surgical System
The visit was commemorated by a plaque being unveiled by the King in the Cancer Centre’s entrance lobby.
Meanwhile, the Prince of Wales today said the UK is in need of more suicide prevention centres to cope with the worryingly high rates of young men who take their own lives in the UK.
William was opening a new centre run by James’ Place, a charity which provides free therapy for men in suicidal crisis.
He met both staff and men whose lives have been saved by the charity at its three other locations.
James’ Place was founded in memory of James Wentworth-Stanley, a Newcastle University student, who took his own life in 2006 aged 21. This year marks 20 years since his death.
At the end of the visit, James’ mother, Clare Milford Haven, thanked William for his ongoing support to the charity in front of a plaque and a photo of James.
He then spoke to the staff and guests gathered in the garden, saying: ‘I can only hope that we can get… your organisation more around the UK because it’s in need of it sadly.
‘We need to talk more about suicide, we need to talk more about preventing it. We need to talk more about getting to young men and women earlier so that we don’t have to have these centres in the very long run, in the distant future, that’s the ultimate aim.
‘Just a huge thank you to all of you for all your hard work in helping a lot of men through true crisis and seeing some wonderful guys come out the back end of it, feeling much better, stronger, ready to go again at life, is what it’s all about so well done to all of you.’
Milford Haven then presented a James’ Place hoodie to the prince and her other son, Harry Wentworth-Stanley, for the ultra-endurance triathlon he is undertaking to fundraise for a fifth clinic.
William joked: ‘I think mine might be a little bit cleaner than yours by the end of your [challenge.’
Since 2018, the charity’s three existing centres have saved over 5,100 men’s lives. The charity only supports men, who account for over 75 per cent of suicides in the UK.
