King Charles’s role in a British society was highlighted during Prince William and Princess Catherine’s appearance at the Royal Variety Performance on Wednesday evening. The Prince and Princess of Wales looked all glam as they stepped out at the Royal Albert Hall in London and enjoyed performances by Paddington The Musical’s West End cast and singer-songwriters Jessie J and Laufey.
The royal couple mingled with various celebrities and seemed to enjoy the performance at the annual event. At one point, they were seen giggling as national treasure Mick Miller, 75, had the audience in stitches with a series of jokes before Britain’s Got Talent winner, magician Henry Moulding, took to the stage.
The 24-year-old from Blackpool took to the stage and directly addressed William, saying: “Your Royal Highness, you may already know that your father is a member of the world-famous magic circle.”
The King is an Honorary Life Member and a Member of the Inner Magic Circle, after gaining entry in 1975 by performing a magic trick called Cups and Balls.
The magician said that the King recently marked 50 years since he performed the routine which gained him the membership, and to mark it, the monarch was happy to get involved with tonight’s trick. Turning to the audience, Henry picked someone at random, Brian, and asked him to think of a country while pulling a piece of paper out of his blazer pocket.
The audience member said, “Brazil,” prompting the magician to say, “Unbelievable, Brazil it is,” as he unfolded the piece of paper, which read, “Correct,” in capital letters. The BGT winner then handed him a yellow balloon with a piece of paper inside, and asked him to throw it over his head. June caught it and is asked to think of an exact time of day, and tells the magician: “11:03”.
She passed the balloon back, and having caught it, Madeline was asked to give a random number between 100 and 400. She responded 232 before throwing the balloon behind her for a final time.
Kevin caught it and was asked to describe the show in one word. After some deliberation, he said: “Brilliant.” He was then asked to walk to a white spot on the floor and shake the balloon over his head.
Henry approached him and burst the balloon, taking a piece of paper, which reads: “Brian will give the country Brazil. June will give the time 11:03. Madeline will give the number 232. Kevin will give the world brilliant.”
If the audience weren’t impressed enough, a pre-recorded video from a month earlier is then shown on screen. Henry was shown arriving at Buckingham Palace, saying: “I’ve got a special delivery to make”, clutching an envelope addressed to the King.
After being welcomed inside by a member of staff, the camera panned to the clock, which read 11:03am. Inside one of the grand rooms, the magician took a book out of the envelope and turned to page 232, which has the country Brazil circled. He then closed the bright red book and showed the title, Brilliant.
Henry then picked up a pack of cards, telling the audience that the King had reversed one of the cards and placed it back inside the deck. Back on stage, the magician took out the pack and asked Brian to name a card at random, and selected the ace of clubs.
“Let’s see if the King has read your mind,” the young magician says before taking the deck out and sifting through it, selecting the one card facing the wrong direction. The audience applauded as he turned it round to show the ace of clubs.
Giles Cooper, Royal Variety Chairman and Life-President, said of the King’s involvement in the show: “To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the King becoming a member of the prestigious ‘Magic Circle’, the Royal Variety Charity, of which His Majesty is sole Patron, approached Buckingham Palace to see if this year’s Britain’s Got Talent winner Henry Moulding could film some of his performance at the Palace.
“We understand that the King was pleased that the Palace could be used as part of the magic act.”