Prince Charles enjoys magical Brixton

Prince Charles visited the NatWest bank branch in Brixton today (Thursday, November 11) to meet young entrepreneurs helped by his youth charity the Prince's Trust.

His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales heard how a diverse range of businesses had been supported by the Trust's Enterprise programme, from a young chair designer to a local Brixton wine subscription club.

Among the young business owners he encountered was magician Chris Wall, who asked Prince Charles to think of a colour, a number and the name of a person.

The prince replied "blue, 12 and George" – the latter seeming to be a nod to his eldest grandson, Prince George.

Hidden inside a sealed envelope in a wallet was the magician's business card, on which identical answers had been written.

Charles is said to have chuckled and remarked: "Very impressive. It really is".

The Prince's Trust and NatWest set up the Enterprise Relief Fund during the Covid-19 pandemic in order to provide emergency grants to young people aged 18 to 30 interested in self-employment or starting their own business.

Prince Charles also met Karl Lokko, co-founder of Black Seed, a Brixton-based venture fund group which helps Black-led start ups access funding.

Brixton-based artist Melissa North, co-founder of art collective Underway Studio said: "It has been such an honour to share our entrepreneurial journey with HRH The Prince of Wales, here in Brixton where our business, Underway Studio, is based.

Crowds of people clamoured to shake the prince's hand as he left NatWest.

One man asked him "How is your mother?" with Charles giving him a reassuring pat on the arm, and appearing to say: "She's alright, thank you."

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