On Thursday 26 June, we came together at London’s iconic Southbank Centre to celebrate the first-ever King’s Trust Awards, marking the 21st year of our flagship ceremony honouring young people and volunteers who have overcome significant barriers to build brighter futures.
In partnership with TK Maxx and Homesense, this year’s awards showcased the incredible impact of The King’s Trust in helping young people gain the confidence and skills to get into work, education, training or self-employment, not just in the UK, but across the world.
A star-studded event
Hosted once again by Ant and Dec, who have supported the Awards for over a decade and are working with The Trust on the Ant & Dec Making it in Media programme, the evening brought powerful stories of transformation to centre stage.
They were joined by a line-up of celebrity guests and supporters including Gareth Southgate, Joanna Lumley, Sam Thompson, Naomie Harris and Joseph Fiennes who presented our eight UK national awards.
For the international segment of the evening, Ant and Dec introduced three extraordinary young winners whose inspiring journeys reflect the global reach of The King’s Trust.
The show also featured performances from the Sugababes and the cast of The Royal Shakespeare Company’s multi-award-winning production of Matilda the Musical.
Celebrating Our Global Winners
Our international winners – Alice, Roslyn and Pascal – arrived in London for a once-in-a-lifetime week filled with opportunity, inspiration and celebration.
From the beginning, the experience brought them face-to-face with creative leaders, industry mentors and fellow changemakers. Their first stop was the immersive Charlotte Tilbury Beauty Experience in Covent Garden for a confidence boosting makeover.
They also visited Charlotte Mensah’s award-winning salon, where the renowned hair stylist and proud alumnus of The Prince’s Trust gave them hands-on mentoring and career advice. As a successful entrepreneur herself, Charlotte shared her journey and offered personal encouragement to each winner, reinforcing their potential to lead change in their communities.
Throughout the week, the winners had opportunities not just to learn, but to share their own work on a global stage. Each of them presented their crafts and innovations to His Majesty The King during a private moment at the Buckingham Palace reception, where they spoke about their own journeys and impact of their work in Kenya, St Lucia and Uganda. Each winner also had unique and deeply personal highlights:
Alice from Kenya was honoured with the Amal Clooney Women’s Empowerment Award, sponsored by Charlotte Tilbury Beauty, and presented on stage by Amal Clooney herself alongside Charlotte Tilbury, who serves as an Ambassador for the Trust’s Enterprise programme. Before the ceremony Alice was able to share a private moment with Amal and George Clooney and Charlotte Tilbury where she presented them with individualised bracelets of her handmade beadwork. On Friday she also joined our team for an exclusive tour of the Arsenal stadium.
On stage Amal Clooney shared: “Amongst this year’s nominees, Alice’s resilience, courage and entrepreneurial spirit really stood out to me. […] With her bright spirit, Alice has shared her skills with those around her, bringing together young women in her community and empowering them to carve out their own path.”
Roslyn from St Lucia received the Global Young Achiever Award, sponsored by Watches of Switzerland, in recognition of her courage and transformation through the Team programme. Her award was presented by King’s Trust Global Ambassador DJ Cuppy and Watches of Switzerland CEO Brian Duffy.
Cuppy shared the following about Roslyn’s journey and lasting impact: “She has grown so much in her confidence, she stepped into leadership, she’s built new skills and now she is a role model for others. She’s showing her community what is possible, and we love that.”
Her week in London also included a visit to Watches of Switzerland’s flagship store and being surprised with a signed Paris Saint-Germain shirt from football player Ousmane Dembélé along with a personal video message from the team.
Pascal from Uganda was awarded the Global Sustainability Award, sponsored by Octopus Energy, and presented by Veronica Duarte (Octopus Energy) and fellow entrepreneur Eric Collins (Impact X Capital).
Eric Collins described Pascal as “an extraordinary young man and artist” who “has shown remarkable entrepreneurship and initiative, tackling the plastic waste management in his community.”
He also visited Octopus Energy’s London headquarters to learn about their work in renewable energy, a perfect match for his innovative recycling initiative, which he proudly shared with The King during the Buckingham Palace reception. As a football fan Pascal also enjoyed the exclusive tour of the Arsenal stadium, which was kindly sponsored by the Premier League.
Our Winners’ Journeys
Each global winner is a testament to the life-changing impact of our international programmes:
Alice, Winner of the Amal Clooney Women’s Empowerment Award
Alice is a young entrepreneur who won the prestigious Amal Clooney Women’s Empowerment Award for turning a traditional Kenyan craft into a lifeline to support her family and to enable other girls in her community to forge a livelihood.
While still a school student, Alice, 19, launched her own business, making and selling beautiful beaded products, from belts to bangles. Our Enterprise Challenge programme, delivered by Asante Africa Kenya and funded by the I&M Foundation, equipped Alice with the skills to launch and grow her business, and she has drawn on the digital marketing skills she learned to reach customers far beyond her community.
After Alice’s father was tragically killed, Alice’s business became her family’s sole source of income, enabling her siblings to stay in school despite the loss of a parent and breadwinner.
Now an employer as well as an entrepreneur, Alice trains other girls in beadmaking during the school holidays, so that they too have the means to earn an income in a rural area with few formal job opportunities.
Roslyn, Winner of the Global Young Achiever Award
With a turbulent family background, our 2025 Global Young Achiever Roslyn left home at just 16. The Team programme has helped Roslyn build the skills to support herself independently and her career is off to a flying start.
Delivered through our partner the Royal St Lucia Police Force and funded by the Sandals Foundation and the Maria Holder Memorial Trust, Team enabled Roslyn to discover and develop talents she didn’t know she had. Through practical group activities such as first aid and tree planting, Roslyn gradually built up her teamwork and communication skills. At first, she found it hard to express her thoughts and ideas, but as her capabilities blossomed, so too did her confidence, and she started volunteering for leadership roles.
Soon after completing the programme, Roslyn landed her first ever job in a bakery and was promoted within two months of starting.
Pascal, Winner of the Global Sustainability Award
Pascal won our 2025 Global Sustainability Award for his people-powered recycling initiative, which has cut waste going to landfill in his community by a remarkable 80%.
Appalled by the piles of plastic waste in his community in Mabira, Uganda, 19-year-old Pascal set about solving the problem. Drawing on the entrepreneurship skills he gained on the Enterprise Challenge programme, run with Asante Africa Uganda and funded by the Aga Khan Foundation, Pascal started collecting and recycling plastic bottles from households, roadsides and markets, transforming them into products such as flower bowls, water fountains and dustbins for sale.
But alongside launching his own upcycling business, Pascal has kickstarted an even more impressive transformation, spearheading a community eco-movement involving local schools, councils, health departments and community volunteers. Pascal’s efforts have galvanised strong local support. Half of his community now actively participate in local clean-up and recycling activities, recycling 300kg of plastic waste every month.
A Royal Invitation
Before stepping onto the Southbank Centre stage, all winners and Celebrity Ambassadors were invited to a very special reception at Buckingham Palace, hosted by our Royal Founding President King Charles III.
This unforgettable reception gave each winner a chance to share their story with His Majesty, celebrate their success and represent the global community of young people and volunteers empowered by The King’s Trust.
The King’s Trust Awards honour not just individual success, but the resilience, creativity and courage of young people and those who support them around the world. We couldn’t be prouder of this year’s winners and all they’ve achieved, and we’re excited to keep sharing their stories with the world.