This year, The King's Trust, formerly known as The Prince's Trust, celebrates its 50th anniversary. For the past 25 years, the Daily Mirror's Pride of Britain Awards with P&O Cruises has honoured the Trust's remarkable young people through The King's Trust Young Achiever Award. The accolade, presented on stage at the annual ceremony, recognises inspiring individuals who have overcome significant challenges such as homelessness, bereavement, and mental health issues, transforming their lives with the charity's help.
Royal Recognition and Standout Winners
King Charles frequently sends personal congratulations to winners, either through personal letters or video tributes read out by presenters like Idris Elba and Anthony Joshua. Notable winners include Alex Anderson, one of the first people with Asperger's to join the RAF, and Rebecca Beattie, who founded an ethical clothing brand after escaping abuse. Many winners go on to become Young Ambassadors for The King's Trust, speaking at Number 10 and inspiring the next generation.
Early Years: 2001 and 2005
Matthew Graffham won the very first Young Achiever award in 2001. At 20, he had experienced severe childhood abuse, foster care, redundancy, and homelessness, falling into petty crime and drug addiction. After joining a 12-week development and volunteer resettlement programme through The King's Trust, he turned his life around, quitting drugs and finding housing in Canterbury, Kent. Discovering a talent for juggling, he used a small equipment grant to hold voluntary workshops, becoming a juggling instructor and mentor. Presenting the award, Geri Halliwell praised his resilience, saying: "When bad things happen it's so hard sometimes to turn it around and Matthew did just that."
Mark Johnson, who won in 2005, spent 15 years trapped in a cycle of drug addiction, crime, and homelessness in London. After getting clean, he used Trust support to launch Treewise, a tree surgery business that deliberately employed recovering addicts and ex-offenders. He later became an author, a public figure, and the first ex-offender appointed to the board of the National Probation Service. Victoria Beckham, who presented his award, described him as "a true success story".
Later Winners: 2010 to 2023
Nathan James, a 2010 winner from Leeds, fell into gang culture and gun crime as a teenager, surviving being shot and serving two jail sentences. On release, he joined The King's Trust Team programme, developing his mentoring skills and setting up the Just4Youth project in Middlesbrough. Then Prince Charles told Nathan he was personally inspired by his turnaround. Nathan later became an official Prince's Trust Team Leader and won the Bradford South Police Commander's Award.
Gina Moffatt, jailed for six years for smuggling Class A drugs, studied floristry in prison and founded Blooming Scent. On release, with Trust backing, she opened the Blooming Scent Cafe (now Gina's) in Tottenham, employing ex-offenders and mentoring young girls. Invited to Clarence House under the pretence of a meeting, she was stunned when Prince Charles announced her victory. She famously hugged him twice, joking she thought he enjoyed it the first time. Prince Charles remarked he had never seen anyone react quite like that.
Francesca Brown, the 2016 winner, overcame childhood adversity, homelessness, and depression to found Goals4Girls, a football and mentoring programme for young women. After a groin injury ended her career at 16, she moved to London with £10, sofa surfing while working as a youth worker. By late 2016, she had helped more than 700 young women into sports clubs, colleges, and careers.
Rebecca Beattie, the 2020 winner, survived five years of domestic abuse, leaving her partner at 24 with injuries requiring facial reconstruction. With Trust support, she founded Always B U, an ethical clothing brand supporting domestic violence charities. Tskenya-Sarah Frazer, the 2023 winner, launched TSKENYA in 2016 with a Trust grant, offering gender-neutral footwear after facing exclusion due to her size 9 feet. David Beckham surprised her in a café with a gold envelope to announce her win, and Anthony Joshua presented her with flowers on stage.
