TV royalty Ant & Dec get prime seats at Westminster Abbey for King Charles’ Coronation
TV ROYALTY Ant and Dec have been given prime seats inside Westminster Abbey for the King’s Coronation.
The Geordie duo are shock names on the 2,200-strong congregation guest list of lucky people who will witness the historic crowning of King Charles III and Queen Camilla.
Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly, both 47, currently seen on TV fronting I’m A Celebrity South Africa, will join other celebs and music icons making the Coronation the most star-studded in its 1,000-year history.
The telly favourites have scored the hottest tickets in town in recognition of their work for The Prince’s Trust – a charity run by Charles for 47 years helping disadvantaged young people.
Magician Dynamo, real name Stephen Frayne, 40, who received a Prince’s Trust grant when he was a struggling entertainer, will also be there.
He said: “The Prince’s Trust gave me the support no one else would and it changed my life — that’s real magic.”
Music legend Lionel Richie, 73, the first global ambassador for The Prince’s Trust, and Stereophonics lead singer Kelly Jones, 48, whose career was kick-started by a grant from the charity, have also been handed invitations.
Presenter Jay Blades, 53, who appeared on his BBC hit series The Repair Shop with King Charles, also has a ticket.
He is an ambassador for The Prince’s Foundation.
Ant said: “Our Making It In Media course with The Prince’s Trust is a real passion project for us.
“There are so many roles in TV and media that young people may have never considered as a career.
“We want to help young people find out more about the industry.”
Dec added: “We’re incredibly proud to have partnered with the Prince’s Trust on this project over the last two years — and we hope we can help change many more young lives together in the years ahead.”
The pair, who also front Saturday Night Takeaway and Britain’s Got Talent, became Prince’s Trust goodwill ambassadors in 2021 after 20 years working with the charity.
They have also hosted the Prince’s Trust Awards ten times.
Dozens of Dukes and Peers have been left disappointed they have not received tickets for the Abbey on Saturday.
Instead, almost half of the seats will be taken by Covid-19 heroes, charity workers, holders of the British Empire Medal and children — making it a “People’s Coronation”.
But Prince Harry’s wife Meghan, 41, rejected her invitation to sit with the Royal Family, saying she needed to stay in California to celebrate their son Archie’s fourth birthday instead.
Sarah Ferguson, ex-wife of disgraced Prince Andrew but close pal of the late Queen in the monarch’s later years, has not been invited.
US President Joe Biden is sending First Lady Jill Biden in his place.
International representatives from 203 countries – including approximately 100 heads of state — will be at the Abbey.
Others rewarded for their work with Charles’s charity are British Vogue editor-in-chief Edward Enninful, who as a global ambassador for the trust has helped guide its work in Africa and across the world.
Enninful, 51, was once pals with Meghan when the Duchess guest edited a special edition of the fashion bible in September 2019.
It was claimed that the magazine editor even sent Meghan supportive messages during the Oprah Winfrey interview drama in March 2021.
But there have since been claims by royal author Tom Bower that there was “conflict” between Meghan and Vogue staff over her demands when compiling the special edition.
Enninful was last month blasted by online Meg supporters, who call themselves the Sussex Squad, after he penned an essay in Time Magazine praising King Charles III as “charming, funny and kind”.
British-Ghanaian hairstylist Charlotte Mensah is attending after receiving a grant in 1999, which allowed her to set up her own salon, The Hair Lounge, in London’s Portobello Road.
Among the young people attending with the Prince’s Trust are Hassan Alkhawam, 24, who sought sanctuary in Northern Ireland with his family in 2017 after escaping the conflict in Syria.
He was supported by the trust as he applied to study software engineering at university and now runs his own local social enterprise.
South East London-based Funmilola Sosanya, 31, experienced bereavement and unemployment before the trust helped her secure a job as a healthcare assistant.
In addition to guests in the Abbey, more than 30 supported by the trust will attend a screening in St Margaret’s Church, Westminster.
In a change to centuries of history, those in the Abbey – and millions watching on television, internet and on big screens — will be asked to make their homage to affirm the new King.
The Homage of The People is described by Lambeth Palace as an “invitation” to send a “great cry” around the world — rather than an order to swear allegiance to the new King.