King Charles is to guest star in a special episode of The Repair Shop as part of the BBC’s centenary celebrations.

Filmed between autumn 2021 and March 2022, before Charles became King following the death of his mother the Queen, the episode sees Charles meet with the show’s host Jay Blades and his expert team of craftspeople to explore their shared passion for preserving heritage craft skills.

The team will also mend two precious items chosen by the monarch – a piece of pottery made for Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee and an 18th century clock.


In August 2021, the team of Blades, ceramics expert Kirsten Ramsay, horologist Steve Fletcher and furniture restorer Will Kirk were invited to Dumfries House in Scotland to meet the King, then the Prince of Wales, and learn about The Prince’s Foundation’s work in training the next generation of craftspeople.

Charles gives Blades a tour of the estate and he met some of the students on the Building Craft Programme set up by The Prince’s Foundation which teaches traditional skills such as blacksmithing, stonemasonry and wood carving.

Blades, who grew up in Hackney, London, said: “You’ve got someone from a council estate and someone from a royal estate that have the same interests about apprenticeships and heritage crafts and it is unbelievable to see that two people from so far apart, from different ends of the spectrum, actually have the same interests.”

Meanwhile, the collections manager of Dumfries House, Satinder Kaur, gives Kirk, Ramsay and Fletcher a tour of its collection of 18th century furniture and decorative arts.

A skills swap also ensues as the Building Craft Programme lends its graduate Jeremy Cash to the Repair Shop to work alongside metalwork expert Dom Chinea on a special third item – a fire set in the shape of a soldier which has a poignant story behind its existence.

In spring 2022, Blades and the team welcomed the King to The Repair Shop barn to be reunited with the items.

BBC commissioning editor Julie Shaw said: “People will see the former Prince of Wales as you rarely see him – and he is as captivated by the skills of the team who work on his items as any of our Repair Shop visitors."

Kaur, collections manager for Dumfries House, said: “It was a joy to welcome Jay Blades and the talented restorers to our Dumfries House headquarters to explore our collection of 18th century furniture and decorative arts, including many examples of Thomas Chippendale’s work, which were a huge hit with the team.

"They also met with students benefiting from our Building Craft Programme, which helps preserve heritage building craft skills that are at risk of being lost through education and training."

The special episode of The Repair Shop will air on October 26 at 8pm on BBC One.

_____________




The King’s coronation could be marked with a bank holiday as Downing Street indicated it was keeping an open mind on the issue.

The ceremony will be held on Saturday May 6 next year, with the Queen Consort being crowned alongside Charles.

The Government is considering all options, including creating an extra day off or moving the scheduled May 1 bank holiday to May 8 to give people a long weekend to mark the occasion.

The coronation will take place in Westminster Abbey, eight months after the monarch’s accession and the death of the Queen.

There have been calls from some MPs for the May bank holiday at the start of the month to be moved to coincide with the coronation weekend or for an additional bank holiday to be announced.

In response, the Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “Obviously this will be a historic event. We are carefully considering our plans. All options remain on the table.”

Labour backed moving the May bank holiday to coincide with the King’s coronation.

Leader Sir Keir Starmer’s spokesman said: “That would certainly be a good way for the country to be able to celebrate the coronation.

“Moving the May bank holiday that there is for that weekend would be a good idea.”

It is understood that the ceremony will include the same core elements of the traditional service, which has retained a similar structure for more than 1,000 years, while also recognising the spirit of our times.

Charles’s coronation is expected to be on a smaller scale and shorter, with suggestions that it could last just one hour rather than more than three.

It is expected to be more inclusive of multi-faith Britain than past coronations but will be an Anglican service.

Guest numbers will be reduced from 8,000 to around 2,000, with peers expected to wear suits and dresses instead of ceremonial robes, and a number of rituals, such as the presentation of gold ingots, axed.

Coronations have not traditionally been held on a weekend, with the late Queen’s taking place on a Tuesday.

Business Secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg dismissed suggestions the ceremony would be a cut-price affair, saying the coronation must be “sufficiently dignified”.

“Nobody is talking about a coronation that will cost billions of pounds,” he told Sky News.

“I hope we see a coronation that is sufficiently dignified for our sovereign. This is a one-off cost.

“The last one was for a coronation for a reign of 70 years. So, this is not something that happens often, it needs to be done properly.”

The Palace said the ceremony will be “rooted in longstanding traditions and pageantry” but also “reflect the monarch’s role today and look towards the future”.

Charles will be anointed with holy oil, receive the orb, coronation ring and sceptre, be crowned with the majestic St Edward’s Crown and blessed during the historic ceremony.

Camilla will also be anointed with holy oil and crowned, just like the Queen Mother was when she was crowned Queen in 1937.

Guest lists have yet to be confirmed for the spectacle, including whether or not the Duke and Duchess of Sussex will be invited or be able to travel from California to attend.

"Nobody's talking about a coronation that costs billions of pounds." https://twitter.com/SkyNews/status/1580086771198500864


____________





King Charles let out a 'Dear oh dear' while meeting under-fire Prime Minister Liz Truss during their first ever weekly audience.

The Monarch, 73, was overheard making the apparent gaffe during their meeting at Buckingham Palace yesterday.

Last month, the pair spoke briefly during a special audience following the death of Charles's mother, the Queen.

But yesterday the pair met again for their first ever weekly audience - a tradition the Queen maintained throughout her 70-year reign.

However their once-a-week meetings got off to an eyebrow-raising start yesterday with Charles's apparent gaffe - which was caught on camera.

The meeting started with Ms Truss, who is facing an avalanche of criticism over her tax policies, greeting the royal by saying: 'Your Majesty. It is good to see you again.'

Charles, smiling, says: 'Back again?' Ms Truss replies, saying: 'It's a great pleasure.'

But Charles, seemingly looking to fill a brief awkward silence, then says: 'Dear oh dear,' before quickly following up with an 'Anyway... now...'.