Idris Elba felt "famous" when he received a letter from Prince Charles during his youth.
The Luther actor received a grant from The Prince’s Trust when he was 18 which set him on the road to Hollywood, and he will always remember the moment he was told the good news via a special note through the post.
Speaking on BBC’s ‘The One Show’, he said: "I am one of the kids that he helped out. I wanted to go to the National Youth Music Theatre, but I couldn’t afford it, my parents couldn’t afford it, and I remember someone said, ‘Prince Charles helps people out.’
"I was like, ‘Wow.’ Then I auditioned and I never forget, it was probably about two or three weeks later and my mum said, ‘You’ve got a letter.’ And it had the royal seal on it, and I was like, ‘Wow, Prince Charles knows who I am. Are you joking?
"The queen knows me. Wow, I’m definitely famous.’ "
The 45-year-old star is now a Prince’s Trust ambassador, and doesn’t believe he would be where he is today without the grant.
He recently said: "If I pinpoint a time when I didn’t have any money, my parents didn’t have any money, I needed some help, The Prince’s Trust came through – The Prince’s Trust and my Auntie May.
"The Prince’s Trust gave me some money to go to the National Youth Music Theatre.
"And I remember if I hadn’t got that money, I wouldn’t have ever gone into that theatre show, I wouldn’t have had that experience of going into the National Theatre, and I probably wouldn’t be standing here today, that’s sort of the truth."
The Prince’s Trust was founded by Charles in 1976 to help people aged 11 to 30 get jobs, education and training.
Idris Elba’s ‘famous’ Prince Charles letter
