Comedian Tom Davis has described the "weird" conversation he had with King Charles after meeting the monarch at The King's Trust Awards in 2023. Davis, who worked as a tradesman before finding fame, told fellow presenters Ant and Dec that he had helped put up scaffolding at Buckingham Palace in the past.
Speaking on the Hanging Out With Ant And Dec podcast, Davis recalled: "As the King came past he said, 'Welcome to Buckingham Palace'. And I said, 'Oh I've been here before' and he said, 'Have you?' and I said, 'Yeah I did the scaffolding'."
A Surreal Exchange at the Palace
After revealing his previous work at the royal residence, Davis said the pair ended up discussing other potential jobs at the Palace. "And then we got into this weird conversation with him and the guy who works with [him]. And he was going through different problems there might be like I was there to price a job," the 47-year-old laughed, before impersonating the King: "'On the left wing we've got a little [issue]'."
Davis joked that he had briefly considered "leaving the industry" after thinking he had secured "five grands worth of work at Buckingham Palace". He added: "But it was a weird thing, it was like, 'This is quite surreal'."
Previous Accounts of the Encounter
Davis has previously spoken about the encounter during one of his comedy sets, describing the King as a "methodical" and "reassured man". He also claimed that, after telling Charles about the scaffolding work, the monarch replied: "Not originally I hope."
After clarifying that the work had taken place around 15 years earlier, Davis said the King told him he had done "a hell of a job, it's still standing". "It was a lovely bit of banter with the King," he told the audience.
Other Celebrity Encounters
Last year, Sam Thompson also shared details of his encounter with the King at the same event. The former I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! winner recalled approaching the monarch and saying: "All right, mate," before quickly attempting to correct himself by calling him "sir", followed by "Your Majesty".
Thompson told the Mail on Sunday: "He was very nice about it, but the Palace staff behind him didn't look very happy. I have to say, very soft hands our King has."
The Prince's Trust was founded in 1976 by Charles, when he was the Prince of Wales, to help young people facing challenges including unemployment, financial hardship and barriers to education and training. In 2023, following Charles's accession to the throne, the charity became part of The King's Trust.
