King Charles has joined forces with actor Idris Elba and Netflix in a powerful new push to combat knife crime.
At a moving round-table at St James’s Palace, the King, 76, met with victims, youth workers and campaigners to mark one year since he first convened a summit on the issue.
Among them was 23-year-old Kyle Shaw Tullin — a Royal Marine and Team GB boxer — who told how he was stabbed at 17 and nearly died.
He told a table discussion that getting back in the boxing ring after the attack helped keep him out of trouble.
“I was absolutely riveted by what Kyle said,” the King told the group. “It makes me very proud.”
Elba, 52, who launched the Don’t Stop Your Future campaign last year, joined the King to film scenes for a Netflix documentary marking the 50th anniversary of The King’s Trust.
A six-strong crew recorded parts of the session, with the film due to air in 2026.
The Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, also attended, with Home Secretary Yvette Cooper and Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy in attendance too.
“As a parent of teenagers, I can’t imagine what many of these families have faced,” he said. “Your strength is inspiring.”
The King, speaking unscripted, called for joined-up action across government, charities and local organisations.
“The key is delivery,” he said. “How do we turn all this goodwill into real change?”
He praised young people using sport to stay out of trouble. “Being too tired from boxing to get into mischief — that’s a very good point,” he quipped.
The King’s Trust, launched as The Prince’s Trust in 1976, has helped over a million young people.
One of them, Michael Gilroy, 27, used a £5,000 grant to launch a Muay Thai events company. “When the King says he’s proud of you, it’s surreal,” he said.
Elba added: “We’ve made progress, but we can’t take our foot off the pedal. There’s more to do — especially ahead of the national knife crime summit in September.”
Families of victims of knife crime were there, including Martin and Tara Cosser, the parents of Charlie Cosser, a 17-year-old who was stabbed at an end-of-term party nearly two years ago in Warnham, West Sussex.
"You are inspirational," the Prime Minister told the campaigners.
"I find it really humbling that people that you have been through some of the most horrendous ordeals are able then somehow to turn that around and channel it into work to help other people that they will probably never meet and never know.
"I often ask myself, because we've got a 17-year-old boy and a 14-year-old girl, I often ask myself, how would I react? And I'm not sure I would have the courage and resilience that you have to do what you do for other people."
Sir Keir also lauded Elba's "brilliant" campaign against knife crime, called Don't Stop Your Future.
Meanwhile, the Luther star said there had been some "milestones" in knife crime campaigning, but added "we can't take our foot off the pedal".
The 52-year-old said: "We've seen some things happen, and that's great.
"There's also been a small rise in knife crime at the same time, OK?
"And compared to the year before that rising knife crime might be less than the year before, but it was still a rise.
"So we can't take our foot off the pedal.
"We have to stay focused."
The Coalition to Tackle Knife Crime — formed after last year’s palace meeting — continues to bring together police, government and community groups. With the King at the helm, there’s real momentum.
A palace source said: “His Majesty isn’t just listening — he’s driving change.”
