King Charles praised for handling awkward moment with TV star

Sam Thompson has shared a mortifying moment where he accidentally addressed King Charles as "mate" during a prestigious reception at Buckingham Palace. 

The 32-year-old attended the King's Trust Awards event, which celebrated young people supported by the charity.

Thompson later took to Instagram to share his embarrassment over the informal greeting. "Also called the king 'mate' which was mortifying but he was cool about it!" he wrote in his social media post. 

Despite the awkward moment, King Charles seemed unfazed by the slip-up.

The event brought together celebrity ambassadors and award recipients, including Hollywood actor George Clooney and his wife Amal, television presenter Declan Donnelly, and Made in Chelsea star Jamie Laing. 

Thompson shared photographs from the event, including a group shot featuring the celebrity attendees alongside King Charles.

Thompson described the palace visit as a "complete honour and pinch me moment" in his Instagram caption. He also presented an award to someone called Taylor, whom he described as "an incredibly special human." 

"After spending some time with him, his story is one that I think will resonate with a lot of young men his age and I know this is only the beginning for him," Thompson wrote.

The Royal Family's official Instagram account shared images from the reception, celebrating the achievements of the award winners. 

"Today, our King's Trust Award winners and Celebrity Ambassadors had the honour of attending a special reception with our Royal Founding President, His Majesty The King, at Buckingham Palace," the palace wrote. 

The statement continued: "This memorable event celebrated their remarkable achievements ahead of tomorrow's award show. The awards honour those who have been supported by The Trust, and those who mentor them, in the UK and across the world." 

The palace added they were "immensely proud of the extraordinary accomplishments of our young people and volunteers."