The GQ Men of the Year Awards were held last night in London. This is for British GQ, so of course the awards mainly went to British people. The photos from the carpet were not all that great, but that’s probably because the Prince of Wales didn’t deign to walk the carpet. Yes, British GQ decided to honor Prince Charles… and he actually showed up and gave a speech and everything! But he didn’t walk the carpet, which I guess is fine. It would have been weird to see him posing for photos next to Dua Lipa. He was given an award for his decades of philanthropic work:
“When I was first told of GQ magazine’s wish to give me a Man Of The Year award I felt sure it must have been some kind of mistake,” he said. “I thought it must be some sort of ill-deserved fashion award. Particularly as in fashion terms I’m like a stopped clock. In otherwords I’m fashionable once every 25 years.”
He said he then learned the gong was for his philanthropy, adding: “It really is incredibly kind of you and GQ magazine to do this. As you can imagine there is nothing more satisfying than seeing the difference you can make to so many young people’s lives. If you can actually provide them with an opportunity, help them to develop self-confidence and self-esteem, suddenly their lives can be transformed.”
Dylan Jones, editor of GQ, praised Charles for his incredible charity work. “The Prince of Wales has given his service to charities and philanthropic endeavours with such steadfast revolve, clarity of purpose and dedication to others, at home and on the world stage.We are particularly honoured to be able to dedicate the Prince of Wales with this award during British GQ’s 30th Anniversary this year.”
I think this is super-cool. I’m glad British GQ didn’t try to give an award to Harry or William just because they’re younger and they might hit a certain demographic. It feels like Charles has really come into his own, to a certain extent. For years he was deemed “uncool” or bookish, or an environmental wingnut. But Charles has lived long enough for his interests to be recognized as cool and inspirational. Charles deserves a lot of credit for all of his philanthropic work, especially The Prince’s Trust. But I do worry that The Prince’s Trust in particular will start to fall apart because William and Harry have no interest in running it in the years to come.
Photos courtesy of Getty.
Book and the environment are cool now! Millennials and Gen Z are very into Prince Charles’ initiatives. I saw the Instagram stories of so many British YouTubers and “influencers” last night who were actually Instagramming Charles’ speech and really seemed to enjoy his presence.
Yes I have been surprised by this but then again the Princes Trust do a LOT for young people and has been for a long time. I have met many Gen Z and Millennial’s who have been involved or benefitted from the Princes Trust in some way. Chuck may well turn out to be a popular King after all, the young seem to prefer him over William.
This probably explains the whiney Daily Beast piece about poor William, pulled down by Daddy who created the ‘work shy son’ narrative to make himself feel better about himself. Chuck’s work ethic is well known and respected. He setup the Princes Trust in his 20s, William was shagging random girls in nightclub fire escapes and falling out of nightclubs drunk during his.
Charles speeches are always great, in both content and delivery.
Seems like British propaganda to prepare Charle’s ascension to the throne…
Who is the GQ editor friend with?
If the propaganda message is “protect the environment, support art, and help poor kids”, I’m totally fine with that. Long live the king.
Same here. I rather like Charles. His work actually means something, and he is not shy about taking a stand for the environment.
How about fox hunting. Is that laudable?
@ Mirage
Look, I live in a deep red state. The vast majority of my social, political, and personal beliefs are very progressive, but I can’t make myself get too fired up about hunting stuff that lives in abundance. Don’t go killing elephants or anything, but if you want to walk around and shoot at some stupid deer or grouses (wheverTF they are), I’m not cancelling you all together over it.
+100!
I agree that it seems like Charles has come into his own. And it shows that working hard and having a variety of causes are appealing to the masses. Someone on here used to work with the Prince’s Trust (maybe still does….I don’t remember their SN) and said that Charles was involved and had a reputation as being courteous and thoughtful, etc.
Now that said….he’s supposed to do philanthropic work. Charity work, giving back to the public, etc – that’s kind of his role. I guess this is recognizing though that he could have spent the last half century as a playboy prince and done just enough charity work to avoid criticism, but instead he has truly embraced it.
Hello! That was likely me speaking about working for the Trust – I’ve been working there for a year and have chipped in previously, after being a CB reader for years!
I work in fundraising, not directly with HRH, but from colleagues feedback and knowing internal processes, Charles’ reputation is exactly that – courteous, interested, and puts the work in (beforehand and whilst there). I’ve only worked one event directly with him, our national Prince’s Trust Awards, but he was brilliant – prepared, engaged, and most importantly so genuinely happy to see how the young award winners had moved forward with their careers and lives.
He does the work not only needed but best practice as a trustee, Chair, and figurehead – he’s been involved as a key person for developing our new 10 year strategy and pushing for a more ambitious target to help more young people (a million more young people over the next 10 years if anyone is interested). I’ve worked with trustees and figureheads in a variety of organisations throughout my career, and honestly I’m impressed with how much work Charles does put in. He’s definitely won me over, considering I grew up not caring a jot for the royals.
I like Chuck. His Prince’s Trust does real work and actual good in the world. It gave us Idris Elba! He has principles and stands by them, thinking of the Chinese delegation incident and the cheeto, and stepping up at H&M’s with grace and genuine joy really warmed my heart towards him. Yeah, yeah, not perfect, elitist, privilege, Diana, shrug, I still like Chuckles.
I love Prince Charles 👑 I think he has been terribly misunderstood over the years as someone who is cold, uncaring and a bit dim. I think he is quite thoughtful, charming and intelligent, especially about subjects he is passionate about. He definitely has flaws and made mistakes but we all have flaws and make mistakes – its part of being human. I am very proud of Prince Charles and his efforts to better this world. Long live the (future) King 💛
This!!! I like him too. I feel he is a man born before his time, regardless of his past mistakes, He has always been outspoken about the environment, has always supported farmers and organic foods, protection of the land and other things. I remember reading a while back that people were making fun of him when he wanted the palace to recycle before it was the norm in the country. People calling him names and other things because of his views, but if you really think about it hes a bit of a visionnaire when it comes to it. He will probably be mocked during his time as king (sadly) but I feel like years later people will truly understand what he was trying to do.
Charles has in the past been voted best dressed by GQ, and richly deserved too. William and Harry please find your styles.