Television presenters Ant and Dec will attend the Coronation of King Charles III on 6 May at Westminster Abbey in their roles as goodwill ambassadors for the Prince's Trust. The duo, whose full names are Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly, have worked with the charity for two decades and will be joined by other young people the trust has supported.
The Prince's Trust, founded in 1976 by the then Prince of Wales, helps young people access jobs, education and training. McPartlin and Donnelly have hosted the Prince's Trust Awards 10 times and recently worked with the charity on a course called Making It In Media, designed to make the media industry more accessible. Donnelly said they were 'incredibly proud' to work with the charity, adding: 'We hope we can help change many more young lives together in the years ahead.'
Other Coronation guests linked to the Prince's Trust include singer Lionel Richie, who was named chairman of the charity's global ambassador group in 2019, and Kelly Jones, frontman of Welsh band Stereophonics, who received a grant from the trust before signing a record deal. Magician Dynamo, whose real name is Steven Frayne, will also attend, saying: 'The Prince's Trust gave me the support no-one else would and it changed my life.'
British-Ghanaian hairstylist Charlotte Mensah, who received a grant to set up her own salon, and British Vogue's editor-in-chief Edward Enninful, a global ambassador for the trust, are also among the guests. Two young people supported by the charity, Hassan Alkhawam and Funmilola Sosanya, will attend the ceremony. Alkhawam, a Syrian refugee, was helped to apply for university, while Sosanya was supported after experiencing bereavement and unemployment.
More than 30 people supported by the Prince's Trust will attend a screening of the Coronation in St Margaret's Church in Westminster. The Coronation, which will see the King crowned alongside Camilla, the Queen Consort, is due to start at 11:00 BST on Saturday. It has been revealed that the King will reuse a chair used by his grandfather, King George VI in 1937, while Camilla will use a chair previously used by the Queen Mother.
