Hollywood superstar George Clooney and his wife Amal Clooney turned on the charm as they warmly greeted King Charles at a star-studded reception at Buckingham Palace today.
George and Amal, believed to be close friends with the Sussexes, were among the VIP attendees at The King’s Trust Awards and looked in good spirits as they chatted with fellow guests.
Also seen mingling with the monarch was make-up mogul Charlotte Tilbury, who looked to enjoy a spirited chat with the royal, and national treasure Dame Joanna Lumley.
Actor Joseph Fiennes, presenter Declan Donnelly, Fearne Cotton, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley and members of girl group the Sugababes were also present at the glitzy reception honouring winners of this year’s King’s Trust and TK Maxx and Homesense Awards ahead of the presentation ceremony tomorrow.
Charles founded the King’s Trust International at the 2015 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Malta in 1976 and since then it has supported 100,000 young people in 20 countries across the globe.
Hollywood star George and his human rights lawyer wife Amal joined Alice from Kenya, winner of the Amal Clooney Woman’s Empowerment Award.
Photos showed the glamorous human rights activist, dressed in an off-shoulder black dress, in conversation with Charles and Charlotte.
George and Amal famously attended Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s 2018 wedding at St. George’s Chapel, with the A-list celebrity joining 600 guests at Windsor Castle at the time.
In their 2020 book Finding Freedom, authors Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand later claimed that Harry and Meghan joined the Clooneys at their luxurious Lake Como shortly after their wedding.
The bombshell book revealed that George personally arranged for Harry and Meghan to fly from London to Lake Como on his own private jet on the evening of August 16.
The newlyweds then arrived into Milan’s airport, and from there were driven in an unmarked car to George and his human rights barrister wife’s Villa Oleandra.
During the three-day visit, a source said, ‘Meghan and Amal spent a lot of time relaxing by the pool and playing with the twins while George and Harry checked out George’s motorbike collection. Harry took one of them out with one of his protection officers. George recently had an accident, so he wasn’t back on his bike yet.”
‘The duke and duchess weren’t the only guests that weekend. Eugenie and her [now husband], Jack Brooksbank, were already at the villa when Harry and Meghan arrived, their visits overlapping briefly.
As they joined ambassadors and winners of The King’s Trust Awards in London today, it appeared George and Amal exuded warmth in their interactions with Charles, as Harry remains estranged from his family.
The King was today hailed the ‘patron saint of second chances’ by the trust’s celebrity ambassador Joseph Fiennes.
The Shakespeare In Love star 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,’ he continued.
Asked how the King had responded, Joseph joked, ‘I hope rather well. I’m still here!’
One of this year’s international winners, 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.
She was accompanied at the reception by the Clooneys, who she described as ‘really intelligent people’.
The teenagers was also overawed by meeting the King, describing the moment as ‘heaven’.
Charlotte, 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.
The 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.’
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.’
During today’s reception, the 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.
‘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.’
Announcing an ambition to reach one million young people within the next decade, CEO of the King’s Trust Will Straw thanked supporters, ambassadors, staff and volunteers for their efforts.
‘But Sir, we must thank you above everyone for your leadership, your role as our royal founding president,’ he continued. ‘The bold vision you had in 1976 still endures today because of your unstinting vision and belief in young people’s potential.’
Charles 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 Roslayn Stephen, 18, from St. Lucia, winner of the Global Young Achiever Award
Dec – 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 then asked after the couple’s children, saying, ‘Do they get on alright?’
Speaking afterwards, the I’m A Celeb…Get Me Out of Here! 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, adding: ‘It’s always gratefully received.’
Dec also reported that the King was ‘really chatty today’ and ‘on really good form’ – as Charles continues to receive treatment for an undisclosed form of cancer.
‘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 continued.
Dame 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.
The 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.’
Today’s star-studded Buckingham Palace reception greeted a beaming Charles after he had appeared to enjoy the performance by The Herds, a group of life-sized animal puppets operated by artists at the event earlier this afternoon.
The contraptions slowly made their way down a staircase in the Grand Hall before the Gorilla moved towards the King and held out its arm.
The public art group are travelling from the Congo Basin to the Artic Circle, to raise awareness of humanity’s bond with the natural world and the impact of climate change.
They have just arrived in London ahead of a series of performances at landmarks throughout the capital this weekend.
Earlier, the King was met by a handful of government officials including Mona Ainu’u, Minister of Natural Resources on the South Pacific island of Niue.
Ms Aimu’u gave him a jar of local honey made at a newly created bee sanctuary for the Pacific, telling him: ‘We heard that you love honey in your tea.’
The King chuckled: ‘Where did you hear that?’ before quoting Dame Barbara Cartland.
‘She always said “a spoonful of honey a day keeps you more than lovable”‘, he said. ‘Do you remember that?’
He also told Ms Aimu’u that while he’s ‘never managed to get to Niue’, he will ‘keep trying’ to travel there.
Among others he met was Marina Silva, Brazilian minister of the environment and climate change.
‘Give my regards to your president,’ he told her. ‘I know you are working so hard on Cop30.’
Later, another member of the Brazil delegation told the monarch about preparations for the annual climate conference, which will be held in Belém, Brazil, in November, telling him: ‘We would be happy to have you there.’
The King suggested he would love to go but added: ‘It’s fitting it all in.’
Charles also met Sabrina Elba, who is married to actor Idris Elba and is a UN Goodwill Ambassador for the International Fund for Agricultural Development.
It was announced last week that the King has teamed up with Elba for a Netflix documentary celebrating the 50th anniversary of the King’s Trust.
Mrs Elba told the King: ‘Your documentary has been announced, so congratulations!’
Charles asked: ‘Which documentary?’ prompting Mrs Elba to add: ‘Your documentary with Idris!’
She said afterwards that he admitted he lost track of them all.
Chatting to Oliver Vince and Glen Gowers, co-founders of biotech company Basecamp Research, the King said he was keen ‘try and mobilise the pharmaceutical industry’ because such work was ‘in their interests’.
It comes as earlier, the King was also praised for his commitment to drawing by stars of the arts world as they celebrated 25 years of his Royal Drawing School.
Dame Tracey Emin said the country was ‘lucky to have’ a monarch who cared so much, while eclectic potter Grayson Perry described him as ‘very special’.
The pair both sported what appeared to be the fashionable footwear of the night at St James’s Palace – plastic Crocs.
While Emin sported dark coloured footwear, Perry naturally sported a brightly-painted pair of iconic clogs to offset his bright orange dress.
The palace was packed with renowned artists, creative figures and alumni of the school founded by Charles, 76, as Prince of Wales.
To mark the occasion a special anniversary exhibition has been created ‘The Power of Drawing: Marking 25 Years of the Royal Drawing School’ which includes works by 50 eminent artists and alumni from the school’s twenty five year history including Emin and David Hockney.
Another star exhibit is one of the King’s own drawings, a preliminary sketch of Highgrove from 2000.
The free exhibition will go on display at the Royal Drawing School in Shoreditch from July 1- 26.
