Charles requests Sugababes for King's Trust Awards red carpet
The King has requested the Sugababes be played on the red carpet at his King's Trust Awards ceremony as he celebrated the winners with a host of stars.
Hollywood celebrity George Clooney and wife lawyer Amal Clooney were joined by fellow trust supporters, actors Dame Joanna Lumley, Joseph Fiennes and TV presenter Dec Donnelly, one half of Ant and Dec, at a Buckingham Palace reception honouring recipients.
Fiennes dubbed the King the 'patron saint of second chances' for the work of his trust supporting young people over almost five decades, ahead of the awards ceremony being staged on Thursday.
Ant and Dec, the trust's goodwill ambassadors, will be hosting the awards ceremony for the 13th time and Donnelly joked how the King had offered to write some jokes for the pair 'he's going to do some script writing for us, it's always gratefully received'.
After chatting to the girl group Sugababes, Mutya Buena, Keisha Buchanan, Siobhan Donaghy, who will open and close the 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.'
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 has 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.'
George Clooney joined his wife who was supporting Alice, 19, winner of the Amal Clooney Women's Empowerment Award after setting up a business teaching other women the traditional Kenyan craft of bead work.
She said Amal had been acting as a mentor and described the couple as 'very intelligent people' and said 'all the world is shining', after being told she had won the award after taking part in a programme run by the King's Trust International.
The trust will celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2026 and was started by Charles, when he was prince of Wales, following his concern too many young people were being excluded from society through a lack of opportunity.
In 1976, when he left the Royal Navy, he used the £7,400 he received in severance pay to fund a number of community schemes.
These early initiatives were the founding projects of his charity.
Fiennes said after talking to the King: 'In the 25 years that I've been doing this we've just seen a collection of young potential that has been picked up and disenfranchised and not given the right opportunities, so I said to His Majesty, maybe it was inappropriate, but 'you are the patron saint of second chances'.
'And giving young potential second chances is just vital, cost of living, mental crises after Covid, this deep rupture in our psyche, especially for the youth, has been massive, so for the trust to be running and doing what it's doing is so extraordinary.
Among the celebrity supporters at the event were Former Saturdays singer Rochelle Humes, actor James Nelson-Joyce, model and actress Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Made in Chelsea stars Jamie Laing and partner Sophie Habboo and comic Tom Davis.
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.
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.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Times
5 hours ago
- Times
Jo Whiley: When Glastonbury wasn't on we hosted ‘GlastonWhiley'
Home is a barn conversion in Northamptonshire. We call it the compound. Three of my children are adults now and my youngest is doing her GCSEs. I cherish every moment all four of them are under one roof. It's a barn with huge windows that look out on to what used to be a field. I've desperately tried to make it into a cottage garden. It's light and it's airy, which is the most important thing to me. I can't bear being somewhere with low ceilings and small windows. That makes me feel depressed. Maybe I have spent too much time in studios where I don't see any daylight. I also grew up in a really old, dark cottage. My parents lived in a post office in a small village; I just remember the ceilings were very low. I craved the feeling of being outside and being able to access the sky and the sun and nature. • Read more expert advice on property, interiors and home improvement Where we are right now. After Covid with everybody at home, I feel like we've gone through so much living in this house. We've lost people, we've had various animals coming into our lives and living with us, and we've had a lot of fun. It definitely is. The doors are always open, spilling out on to the garden. We're big on fancy-dress parties. We had one celebrating the Olympics; everyone came as a country. We did a procession all the way round the garden with flags, then we had a big sports day. I think I was Team GB. My favourite outfit was for a Disney-themed party when my daughter, India, who is now 33, was obsessed with The Lion King. She was Timon and I came as Pumbaa. I've always been the warthog, and I reprised that role for her 30th birthday party, which was hilarious. Snow Patrol performed in my lounge. We did a Christmas show from the house, so we had Jona Lewie doing Stop the Cavalry in the kitchen, with Alex James from Blur serving cheese and cider, Jamie Cullum on the piano in the hallway and Kae Tempest was there too. No Paul McCartney in a Daffy Duck costume though, sadly. We do have a tiny shed called the Miniscule of Sound. My husband [music executive Steve Morton] is obsessed with dry ice, so it's like an incredibly small nightclub with DJs hammering out tunes until five in the morning. The last time Glastonbury wasn't on, we hosted an event call GlastonWhiley, where all our friends camped in the field and we had a pig roast and loads of festival stuff going on. I first went when I was about 17. I saw Van Morrison and John Cooper Clarke and Aswad and it rained so much. I remember our tent, which was right in front of the Pyramid Stage, sliding down a hill towards the stage. We left at five o'clock the following morning, after cooking bacon sandwiches on the platform of the train station. Accommodation has improved since then. We did the Winnebago thing and it got trashed and then we weren't allowed to have another one. We did shows from there, so we had the Arctic Monkeys, Lily Allen, Klaxons, Mika and Amy Winehouse — they kept coming into the Winnebago to do interviews because it was the only dry place. I remember interviewing Amy Winehouse and Blake [Fielder-Civil] from basically my bedroom, with my kids there, too. I can't remember exactly who was responsible for the trashing, but I'm sure the Klaxons played a fairly large part. Now I stay in a nearby hotel, with all the other people working for the BBC. I've had the same room for the past ten years. It feels like going home every time I go back there because the staff are so welcoming. • Glastonbury 2025 TV Guide: How to watch the festival live from home No, because I'm their mum. I'm just a figure of fun. I've got a bronze sculpture of my grandad's hands holding my daughter's hands that we made before he died. It's really freaking heavy, but I would definitely take that, as it always brings back special memories of him. My dad was an electrician, so I am the most practical one in the family. We've done up two bathrooms recently. I got obsessed with tiles. I tend to do most of the gardening, especially after my husband got grass feed and weed killer muddled up and destroyed the lawn for six weeks until it grew back. He's now banned from gardening. I went to Chelsea recently and my desperation to get bigger and better plants is extreme. And I've just had an irrigation system installed which has been life-changing. Will Young is my gardening buddy. He was in Cabaret in Milton Keynes and he stayed with us, and we did the vegetable patch together. We regularly exchange chat about gardens. Sharlene Spiteri from Texas is a really keen gardener as well. I regularly write Post-it Notes saying, 'Clean the shit out of the sink', because the gunk is my absolute pet hate. It's gross and it annoys me that people leave it for me to deal Whiley has worked with National Rail on a series of audio guides exploring the connections between artists and the places that inspired them. Find the guides on or Spotify
Daily Mail
10 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Ant McPartlin's absence at the King's Trust Awards reception REVEALED as Dec Donnelly appears without his right hand man to greet His Majesty
Dec Donnelly mingled amongst Hollywood superstar George Clooney and his wife Amal Clooney as they attended a star-studded reception at Buckingham Palace On Wednesday. However as the TV presenter, 49, warmly greeted King Charles alongside his wife Alison there was one notable absence. Dec's co-host Ant McPartlin was no where to be seen as he failed to make an appearance at the King's Trust Awards reception during the afternoon. However it has now been confirmed Ant was away on a family holiday so was unable to make the reception. The King's Trust said in a statement: 'Ant is currently away on a pre-arranged family holiday so is unable to attend today. 'He will be back from his holiday to present The King's Trust Awards tomorrow.' Yet it isn't the first time Ant's absence has been noted after the Geordie TV star failed to attend the reception for the winners of the 20th Prince's Trust Awards at the palace in May 2024. King Charles couldn't contain his laughter during a sweet encounter with Dec as he asked where his right-hand man was. Explaining why Ant wasn't able to attend his event, Dec joked that Ant was 'too busy breastfeeding' after welcoming his first child with wife Anne-Marie, a son named Wilder. Dec said: 'Good to see you, nice to see you too. He's [Ant] not here today but he sends his apologises. He's got a week old baby so he's home breastfeeding or something.' King Charles asked: 'Is it his first one [child]?' Dec responded: 'Yeah, it's his first one. They've got daughters from previous marriages but it's his first one.' 'So will you please give him my many congratulations', King Charles added. Dec said: 'I will, of course.' Meanwhile George and wife Amal were in good spirits on Wednesday as they arrived hand in hand at the event. The Hollywood icon, 64, and his human rights lawyer wife, 47, dressed to impress as they attended the reception celebrating the winners at the palace. The actor was back to his grey locks, much to the delight of his wife who George previously said 'hated' the freshly brown dyed locks he had for his latest Broadway show. The couple couldn't contain their smile as King Charles III chatted away to the couple before greeting guests. The Clooneys have long supported the work of The King's Trust, formerly known as The Prince's Trust. The Amal Clooney Women's Empowerment Award, launched in 2019 with the Trust, celebrates the achievements of inspirational female youngsters around the world. The actor cut a dapper figure in a grey suit which he teamed with a matching open collar shirt. Meanwhile Amal made sure to turn heads in a black off the shoulder gown which she teamed with towering heels and a gold clutch. The King met with the winners of the eight UK categories during the day as well as the three winners of the three global categories ahead of the awards ceremony, which will be held at the Royal Festival Hall on Thursday. Also mingling with the royal 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 Fearne Cotton, Rosie Huntingdon-Whiteley and members of girl group the Sugababes were also present at the glitzy reception.
Metro
11 hours ago
- Metro
King Charles makes request for Sugababes CD at red carpet event
King Charles III has been revealed as a fan of the Sugababes as he made a request for their hits to play at his King's Trust Awards ceremony. The monarch met with Hollywood royalty and a number of other celebrities at Buckingham Palace on Wednesday evening. The group gathered to celebrate the recipients of awards at the upcoming King's Trust Awards ceremony. George Clooney and Amal Clooney, Dame Joanna Lumley, Joseph Fiennes, and Declan Donnelly were at the red carpet event, along with the girl group Sugababes. King Charles chatted with Mutya Buena, Keisha Buchanan, and Siobhan Donaghy, who will open and close the ceremony at London's Royal Festival Hall. The King then chatted to Radio 1 DJ Melvin Odoom, who revealed that he told the King he was taking requests as he'd be preparing a set for the red carpet. Melvin later told PA News Agency: 'He asked for the Sugababes CD to be played.' He joked that he'd take the request, albeit an out-of-date one: '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 awards will be presented at the Royal Festival Hall on Thursday, June 26. The babes themselves later responded to the news that they had a fan in the King: '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 aback.' They added that they had an idea in mind about which CD they might send to the King first. 'He said he wanted a CD and we think we'll introduce him to Overload first, he was really lovely.' The girl band caused chaos at Glastonbury earlier this year when they performed on the West Holts stage. Despite being the festival's third-largest stage, it simply did not have the capacity to host the huge number of fans eager to see the stars perform. More Trending Fans had to be turned away from the performance by security due to fears of overcrowding – and many were fuming that they were forced to miss out. The girl group is set to give the Worthy Farm festival a miss this year after touring throughout April. The current group members are the original ones from when the band was first formed in 1998. Siobhan left the group in 2001, with Mutya leaving in 2005, and Keisha leaving in 2009. After three different formation variations, the girls returned to the original lineup in 2011, reclaiming the rights to the name the Sugababes in 2019 – and the rest is history. Got a story? If you've got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@ calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we'd love to hear from you. MORE: Donald Trump's second UK state visit to take place in September MORE: King Charles is following in Harry and Meghan's footsteps with surprising new move MORE: Royals watch Red Arrows fly past after touching tribute to Air India crash victims
