King Charles Coronation: Ant and Dec to attend with the Prince's Trust

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Ant and Dec with the King in 2022Image source, Getty Images
Image caption,

Ant and Dec have hosted the Prince's Trust Awards 10 times

TV presenters Ant and Dec are to attend the King's Coronation in their roles as goodwill ambassadors for his charity, the Prince's Trust.

They will be joined at the Westminster Abbey ceremony on 6 May by young people the charity has supported.

The duo - full names Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly - have worked with the charity for two decades.

Other Coronation guests linked to the Prince's Trust include singers Lionel Richie and Kelly Jones.

News of the invitees comes as more details about the Coronation have emerged, including that the King is recycling a chair used by King George VI for the ceremony.

Jones is frontman of Welsh band Stereophonics, who were supported by the trust before signing a record deal, with a grant to help them buy new equipment so they could perform live.

US singer-songwriter Richie was named chairman of the charity's global ambassador group in 2019.

The trust, which was founded in 1976 by the then Prince of Wales, is a youth charity helping 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 to make the media industry more accessible.

The pair's Making It In Media course "is a real passion project", said McPartlin.

"There are so many roles in TV and media that young people may have never considered as a career," he said. "We want to help young people find out more about the industry."

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."

Image source, PA Media
Image caption,

Singer Lionel Richie was named chairman of the Prince's Trust global ambassador group in 2019

Magician Dynamo, whose real name is Steven Frayne, is another Coronation guest who was helped by the charity.

"The Prince's Trust gave me the support no-one else would and it changed my life - that's real magic," he said.

British-Ghanaian hairstylist Charlotte Mensah, who received a grant to help her set up her own salon, will be attending.

And British Vogue's editor-in-chief Edward Enninful, who has helped the Prince's Trust with its work in Africa and worldwide as a global ambassador, is also among the guests.

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Hassan Alkhawam, 24, is one of the young people who will be attending the Coronation.

After escaping the conflict in Syria and finding sanctuary in Northern Ireland with his family in 2017, he was supported by the trust as he applied for university to study software engineering.

He will be joined by Funmilola Sosanya, 31, from south-east London, who experienced bereavement and unemployment before the trust helped her find work as a healthcare assistant.

As well as the guests seated in the Abbey, more than 30 people supported by the charity will attend a screening 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 public will be invited to pledge allegiance to the King and his heirs during the ceremony.

A spokesman for Lambeth Palace, the Archbishop of Canterbury's office, said "the homage of the people" was "exciting" because anyone could take part, "wherever they are".

But the move has been described as "offensive, tone deaf and a gesture that holds the people in contempt" by campaign group Republic.

It was earlier revealed that the King would be reusing a chair in the Coronation that was used by his grandfather, King George VI in 1937. Camilla will be using a chair previously used by the Queen Mother.

In a further nod to sustainability and the King's love of nature, primary school children will be sent wildflower seeds to mark the Coronation.

More than 200,000 seed packets will be sent to state-funded primary schools, under the scheme run by the Eden Project and the Department of Education.