The Prince of Wales was keen to find out more about Strictly Come Dancing star Chris Ramsey's training regime for the show as the pair met at the Prince's Trust Awards on Wednesday. Prince Charles, 71, spoke to celebrity supporters ahead of the ceremony at the London Palladium, including hosts Ant and Dec, former James Bond actor Pierce Brosnan and World Champion sprinter Dina Asher-Smith.
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WATCH: Prince Charles greets Ant and Dec at the Prince's Trust Awards
Comedian Chris Ramsey tells HELLO!: "The Prince asked how intense the training was, to which I replied 'very'. He asked me where I trained and I said, in my hometown for nine hours a day in the gym. He also asked how I found out about my [Strictly] partner, I said: 'When you see us find out on telly, that's when we find out'. He asked: 'Did you enjoy it?' I said: 'That was the first and last time in my life I'll ever have abs!'"
Charles jokily asked the 33-year-old, who reached the semi-final of Strictly 2019 with professional dancer Karen Hauer: "You're not wearing all the leotards anymore?" to which Chris laughed and said: "Thankfully, I don't have to!"
Chris added: "Apparently the Prince is a fan! You can tell when someone's a fan because they go straight into the technical questions. I'm going to tell everyone that he said he voted for us!"
The comedian, who hosts podcast Sh**ged Married Annoyed with wife Rosie Ramsey, presented the Young Ambassador award to 21-year-old Aisa Ali. He tells HELLO! "It's wonderful, meeting all of the winners. The Prince's Trust is a huge incredible charity that does so many great things. I literally cried when I read the stories of what they [the winners] have been through, I would have given up, personally I don't have that drive, I don’t have that kind of great determination to get back up when life throws all of that at you. The word inspirational is thrown around a lot and it will be thrown a lot today, but quite rightly. They are unbelievable."
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Chris chats to Prince Charles
Aisa Ali, from Leicestershire, opened the awards ceremony with a rap about her life. She won the Young Ambassador award in recognition of how she inspires others by sharing her own personal experiences and how the Prince's Trust supported her. She found her life spiralling out of control as she found herself homeless, drinking, suffering from poor mental health and estranged from her family.
Aisa tells HELLO! that the Trust saved her life, when she found out about the organisation through a job centre in 2016. She said: "I met my old team leader Abi Heath there and it literally changed my life. She has been there for me when no one else has and has pulled me through the darkest times so I owe my life to her and the Trust. I want to make sure no one else goes through what I went through and if they did, give them the right tools in order to get through, because trauma is hard to get through on your own."
After accepting her award on stage, she got the chance to chat with Prince Charles. She said: "The Prince told me he was really proud and he said keep pushing forward and to always embrace individuality because that's the important thing."
Charles during his speech
Upon arrival, the Prince of Wales admitted he was struggling not to shake hands as coronavirus continues to affect royal protocol. Charles extended his hand to greet John Booth, the chairman of the Trust, before withdrawing it at the last minute in mock horror and greeting him with a bow and "Namaste". Turning to Dame Martina Milburn, the Trust's chief executive, Charles said: "It's just so hard to remember not to."
Guests at the ceremony were treated to a performance from Craig David, who also attended the Commonwealth Day service with the royal family on Monday. In his speech, following the awards, Charles joked: "It's the second time in two days I’ve seen him. It's like London buses. I saw him at Westminster Abbey two days ago, and here he is again."
The Prince's Trust awards was held in partnership with TK Maxx and Homesense, which have helped young people with their Get into Retail programme. Charles caused excitement when he visited TK Maxx in Tooting, South London, last month, to meet youngsters who have benefited from the course.
The awards recognise outstanding young people who have succeeded against hardship with support from the charity. The Trust, which was founded by the Prince in 1976, has helped over 950,000 young people to date and supports over 100 more each day.
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