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
Daily Mail
7 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Baby joy! Home and Away star Luke Jacobz expecting second child with wife Raychel after fertility struggles
Luke Jacobz has revealed he and wife Raychel are expecting their second child – a baby boy – following years of fertility struggles and heartache. The former Home and Away heartthrob, 44, best known for playing Angelo Rosetta, said the couple were left stunned to discover they had conceived naturally, after initially turning to IVF to fall pregnant with their first daughter, Maisie. 'We're having a boy! We are just over the moon,' Luke told Woman's Day this week. 'That we were actually able to fall naturally with number two – I jumped up and down and lost my mind.' Luke and Raychel, who met in 2017, began trying for a baby the following year but soon found themselves on an emotional rollercoaster. From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the DailyMail's new showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop. Despite being given the all-clear medically, they struggled to conceive and eventually turned to IVF via Adora Fertility. Their journey was anything but smooth – involving multiple rounds of egg retrievals, repeated embryo transfers, and three devastating early miscarriages. With just one embryo left, the couple made the difficult decision to undergo one final transfer before their wedding, which had been delayed twice due to COVID. Incredibly, the transfer worked, and Raychel walked down the aisle four months pregnant. 'We weren't expecting that, so we just lost our minds,' Luke said. 'We were so close to not trying anymore because it was just so hard.' But after a harrowing pregnancy and a traumatic birth, the couple believed their family was complete. That is, until their daughter Maisie turned one, and they began to feel a growing desire to give her a sibling. 'We felt selfish not trying again,' Luke admitted. 'But we never imagined it would happen without help.' The couple welcomed their first child, Maisie, back in November 2023. In a sweet Instagram post, the television presenter was thrilled as he shared the good news with his 104,000 followers alongside several snaps of the newborn. 'Words cannot describe how happy we are to bring our bundle of joy into the world,' he captioned his post. 'Maisie - you are so loved and we could not ask for anything more perfect than you.' Luke added that his wife, now a new mum, was 'doing so well' and admitted the birth process was hectic. 'We had a very 'eventful' delivery day but it was all worth it,' he continued.
Wales Online
16 hours ago
- Wales Online
Inside Martin Roberts' huge Welsh pub renovation project as he addresses lap dancing club rumours
Inside Martin Roberts' huge Welsh pub renovation project as he addresses lap dancing club rumours Exclusive access to the Homes Under The Hammer presenter's Welsh renovation and what's been holding up the project Don't believe any local rumours - Martin Roberts' pub and hotel renovation is on its way to completion (Image: WalesOnline/Rob Browne ) Almost a year to the day that WalesOnline last visited the former Hendrewen Hotel and Pub in Blaencwm to see how Martin Roberts' latest renovation we were intrigued to return with exclusive access and see the progress that has occurred over the past 12 months, and we're not the only ones. The popular presenter of BBC's Homes Under The Hammer 'accidentally' bought an empty building at the top of the Rhondda Fawr valley after it closed during the Covid-19 pandemic and has been working hard to transform it with the help of a team of builders and the support of the local community. But maybe for some local Rhondda residents the project is taking longer than expected, and into the void has appeared a number of rumours swirling about regarding the building's future. For more property stories sent to your inbox twice a week sign up to the property newsletter here. READ MORE: The ordinary-looking home with an unexpected treat in the tiny back garden YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE: Martin Roberts ploughing half a million pounds of his own money into 'most worrying' project he's ever taken on after falling in love with Welsh community There outside might look similar to June 2024 but a lot has been happening inside (Image: WalesOnline/Rob Browne ) Article continues below Martin explains: " As things go on rumours start to get rife so we have to put paid to them now - one is that it's being sold but I am not selling it, I'm not turning it into a lap dancing club, and I'm not turning it into flats!" There has been a huge amount of work happening over the last 12 months, with stripping out all the interior of the property 'back to bricks' to create just a shell. Martin says: " The biggest challenge has been getting back together, all structurally sound, and it had 150 years of stuff to strip away and it took a lot longer than we thought it would." The team uncovered some 'horrors' to deal with including a steel that was hiding a major problem. Martin explains: "One w all was held up by a piece of steel, which was supported by a bit of wood, which was supported by a final bit of wood that was holding up everything and it was a rotten piece of timber about an inch thick!" Martin standing where the central bar will be installed (Image: WalesOnline/Rob Browne ) To the untrained or novice eye, stepping into the pub in its current condition in June 2025, it might appear that not much has happened over the last year, but that could not be further from the actual situation. For a 12 month comparison, see what Martin's pub looked like when we had exclusive access back in June 2024 here. One of the main delays of the timeline - although Martin says there is no timeline as such - is the fact that the building is going to be a commercial enterprise. He says: " It's not the doing it, it's not the ideas, it's not the enthusiasm and having a great team - it's often the extra things you have to do in terms of planning and regulations because it's going to be a place of public use. "It means you have to adhere to a thousand billion more rules and regulations and it quite rightly covers everything and it takes forever, it's frustrating because I wanted to be further along but it has to be done. But we will get there." CGI of how the finished project could look including the addition of a community shop and bike hire (Image: Martin Roberts ) The building is now structurally strong and the main ground floor area of the pub that has two defined lounge bar areas connected by the central bar are at the first fix stage, so electricity and plumbing are in, the new floor is down, and the showcase bar is complete but won't be installed until a later stage, much closer to when the pub is reopened. Some of the walls are being left as exposed stone as Martin is keen to keep a country pub feel, enhanced greatly by the discovery of two fireplaces in one area that will ensure the pub always feels warm and welcoming with a 'k ick off your shoes, dog-friendly, chill out vibe'. In the corner of this room is a major addition - two sections of wall have been removed in the corner to create a seamless flow from the old pub into the new glass and oak restaurant that Martin is adding to the side of the current building that will be an absolute showstopper - offering mountain and waterfall views from its glass covered gable end. The same spot 12 months ago with no break-through in the walls for access to the new restaurant (Image: Jo Ridout, WalesOnline ) Martin says the planning has been given and that this area will serve high quality food with traditional food in the main pub section. He says: " I want it to be s omewhere special, not be over-priced but it will be a place where you'll want to come for a special occasion and I think the valleys deserve that. "Why shouldn't it be as good as anything you find in Cardiff, London or The Cotswolds. I want people to walk through the door and go, 'I can't believe this is here because you could be Bourton-On-The-Water!'" CGI of inside the newly constructed, timber-framed restaurant (Image: Martin Roberts ) But the food side of the establishment is also going to offer young people and local catering students at Coleg y Cymoedd the chance to practice what it's like to cook and run a restaurant "in a real world situation, as it's the best way to learn", he comments. " And do you know what, they will shine! If you give young people a chance from my experience the y always deliver, if you just believe in them." This eagerness to involve young people in the project has been an impressive hallmark of Martin's renovation project, including with the renovation and building work, specifically through the Real Skillz Project, an initiative that provides construction skills training on-site in a collaboration between YEPS 16+ Support Team, Communities for Work Plus, and ARC Training. CGI of inside the main ground floor lounge bar area divided into two spaces with a central bar (Image: Martin Roberts ) In the second bar area there will be a stage where young musicians and anyone who just wants to have a go will be able to access equipment and be a creative space, adding to the atmosphere and ensuring the building is always 'alive' in one way or another. Upstairs progress is more obvious, with the eight bedrooms boasting new windows, electrics, plastered and painted walls and shower rooms, as well as some of the furniture for the pub downstairs that Martin has sourced as the project has developed. The slow progress delivering the commercial aspects of the building has been a blessing in disguise for Martin, as he says it has given him extra time to think and that has resulted in a new idea for the eight guest rooms. He says: "The big news is, over probably too many bottles of wine one night, I came up with the idea of theming the rooms around TV shows, so you could be staying in Top Gear, A Question of Sport and, probably my favourite, Fawlty Towers. The eight bedrooms are almost finished (Image: WalesOnline/Rob Browne ) "I will put in these rooms lots of memorabilia which I've gathered but also decorated in the style, so say Fawlty Towers will have wallpaper peeling off, shelves that are breaking, flock bedspreads and very old fashioned fittings." There's also a Top of the Pops room and, of course, a Homes Under The Hammer property room, as well as a Doctor Who bedroom, Martin adds: "I've actually got a life sized cut out of tom baker - my era - and I'm currently negotiating on buying a 1970s dalek. "The only good thing about any delays is that it means I came up with extra ideas, like the bedrooms, I didn't think of that at the start, it's a big project, there's lots to think about. For more property stories join our Amazing Welsh Homes Facebook group here "I m ight give some of the bedrooms to one interior designer to play with, I've been collecting lots of relevant memorabilia a nd collectables and we've got some great designs already, but I'd quite like to give younger people a chance to come in and say, do the doctor who bedroom, do the question of sport bedroom with a little bit of their spin on it." One of the bedroom ensuites is done and dusted (Image: WalesOnline/Rob Browne ) Martin is also keen to involve as many Welsh businesses as is possible in the project and one exciting example is engaging start-up company Siop Rhyd to design and create a resin section of the showpiece bar. Martin found the back story of Rhodri Phillips, who has worked on the resin for the top of the bar, as so inspiring he was keen to work with him on this fundamental aspect of the pub's interior. Find out about Rhodri's story here. There's also been more time for Martin to source some unique pieces for the furniture and décor of the ground floor lounge bars including traditional iron and wood pub tables as he is keen for the inside of the property to be as distinctive on this public level as in the bedrooms above it. The purchase of the pub was not quite as reckless as it might first appear, as it is part of an exciting regeneration plan for the area that, if it succeeds, will be a new chapter for the area. After being invited to travel down into the new closed Rhondda tunnel that links the Afan valley with the Rhondda valley and was once used to transport mined coal to Swansea docks by the Rhondda Tunnel Society, Martin was captivated. When the society invited Martin to become their patron he says he felt honoured and since then he and the society have made significant progress to reopening this unique slice of history as a tourist attraction - find out about the latest exciting development in the reopening plan here. The first floor will have eight ensuite bedrooms, each with a theme, and this one is obviously a homage to Homes Under The Hammer (Image: Martin Roberts ) The Hendrewen hotel and pub is located an easy walk to the now landscaped and filled in Rhondda Fawr end of the tunnel and can become a hub for hiring bikes to ride through the tunnel and supplies for people visiting to explore the network of cycle and hiking paths that cover this stunning area of Wales. The pub is not the first renovation project Martin has got his teeth into in Wales within the last decade, and specifically the Rhondda Fawr valley, which he clearly feels such a strong connection to, as he purchased and renovated Tynewydd farmhouse. Now a popular holiday let, the oldest surviving farmhouse in the valley is also said to be haunted and was the subject of a celebrity special addition of discovery+ show 'Help! My House is Haunted'. See what it is like to stay at Martin's farmhouse here. Martin's epic Welsh renovation journey has been filmed and documented from the very beginning of the project, when he 'accidently' and impulsively bought The Hendrewen hotel and pub without even telling his wife Kirsty. In December 2024 Martin announced exciting plans ahead with news of a new programme on ITV in the style of Jeremy Clarkson's Amazon Prime show, showcasing The Hendrewen project, based on the mini series called 'Oops I Bought A Pub' broadcasting on his YouTube channel. Martin shows the family his 'accidental' purchase as part of an ITV documentary series called 'Oops I Bought a Pub' release date unknown at the moment (Image: Martin Roberts' Property Titbits YouTube channel - Oops I Bought A Pub series ) Broadcast on ITV as a probable 10-part documentary series, it is expected to air sometime in 2026 - but first Martin needs to actually finish at least the pub, hotel and restaurant. He says: "I'd like to say Christmas this year but I don't want to rush it, I want to do it right. There's no point in opening in November or December because we won't have time to hire and train staff, s o w e'll probably finish in March next year and probably open next summer, there's no specific rush. "It's a balance really, I want to get it open as soon as possible but I don't really want to open it in phases, I want to open it all at the same time. It's not a building you can just quickly renovate, and if you do it right it also costs a fortune. But it is very exciting, and it will open as soon as possible and when I am happy - it is my number one project next year, my main focus." If you are a young interior designer who would like to know more about maybe contributing to one of The Hendrewen's bedroom designs, email Article continues below Find your own property to renovate here:
Daily Mirror
a day ago
- Daily Mirror
Shark attack at 'Ant and Dec beach' leaves teenager in serious condition
A shark attacked a boy at Cabarita Beach on Sunday and he is now in hospital with serious arm injuries A teenage boy has suffered serious injuries after being bitten by a suspected Great White shark at a beach in New South Wales regularly used by TV hosts Ant and Dec. Australian emergency services were called to Cabarita Beach, between Tweed Heads and Byron Bay, at 3.50pm on Sunday after the attack. Surfers and two off-duty paramedics rushed to the boy's aid, reportedly applying a tourniquet to help restrict the bleeding. The teen suffered injuries to his arms and hands and was airlifted to Gold Coast University Hospital by the Westpac Rescue Helicopter in a "serious but stable" condition. ITV hosts Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly, have regularly been spotted enjoying downtime at Cabarita Beach in Australia during the filming of " I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!". They were seen having lunch together at a local cafe and also have been pictured enjoying the beach with their families including regularly swimming there. In NSW, Australia, shark fatalities are rare but it is thought there have been three deaths since 2021. The recent attack comes just weeks after a 17-year-old girl was mauled to death by a shark while swimming at a popular tourist spot at Bribie Island, north of Brisbane. Emergency services had rushed to the scene, with victim Charlize Zmuda treated for life-threatening upper body injuries. Tragically, she later died. Her devastated family said after the incident that they wanted to focus on "incredible life she lived and not the awful way she died". They said in a statement: "Charlize was loved by many and was such a shining light who truly touched the lives of everyone she met." Local Chris Potter told the Courier Mail at the time of what he saw as the devastating scenes unfolded: "People originally thought she had just been caught in a rip. "It was shocking."
