Scarborough cadet receives royal wedding invite

A month from today, Prince Harry and fiancée Meghan will tie the knot in Windsor.

Among the guests are David and Victoria Beckham, Elton John, Ellie Goulding ... and Scarborough’s own Charlie Davies.

The 16-year-old, who is one of three Lord Lieutenant Cadets from North Yorkshire, received an invitation to attend the historic occasion.

“As one of the Lord Lieutenant’s cadets, my mum thought that I might get an invite, but we had our doubts because it’s such a big thing,” said the Scarborough Sixth Form College student. “We can’t wait, it’s a real honour to be invited. I think my mum is more excited than I am, it’s a once in a lifetime thing to do.”

Charlie jokingly added: “It’s definitely one to tell the grandkids.”

Kensington Palace announced last month that 2,640 members of the public would attend the grounds of Windsor Castle to join the celebrations of the May 19 wedding at St George’s Chapel.

Charlie is among 1,200 people chosen by Lord Lieutenants across the country who have served their communities and shown leadership.

HM Lord Lieutenant of North Yorkshire Barry Dodd said: “The royal wedding is about the next generation of the royal family and as Lord Lieutenant I was asked to put forward a number of people.

“As it’s the next generation of the royal family I decided to find young people who have done extraordinary things and to invite them.

“Charlie has done a huge amount for the cadets and he is an absolutely fantastic person. He’s the kind of young person that anyone would be proud of. I put him on my list to invite him and I’m sure he will be very excited about going.”

Charlie added: “I don’t think I’ve really told that many [fellow cadets],” said Charlie. “I don’t really know what they would say. I think hopefully they would be happy and say have fun and a good time.”

The teenager joined Scarborough Sea Cadets when he was 10 years old and mum Natalie says he’s never looked back. “He is an asset to the unit, being an outstanding role model to his peers and always there to help them,” Natalie said. “This was shown when his fellow cadets voted him as the Best Senior Peer at the annual awards.”

Charlie was recognised in October last year by Her Majesty’s Lord Lieutenant for his outstanding service in the cadets. Being appointed the Lord Lieutenant’s cadet is the highest honour that can be achieved by a cadet.

Only 12 cadets selected from a total of 8,500 across the whole Yorkshire and Humber region were awarded the Lord Lieutenant’s Certificate.

Charlie said: “My family has always been involved with Sea Cadets. When I was ten I joined up and my parents got back into it too. I’m still really enjoying being a part of it.

“I like the competitions we take part in and I’ve made a lot of friends through the cadets.”

Charlie has been all over the country taking part in competitions including rowing, sailing and drill. He was even part of the crew that won the Small Ships Race in 2015.

He also spent six weeks as a trainee instructor at Sea Cadet Training Centre Caledonia last summer learning the skills and attributes of a watersports instructor.

“It was a really fun experience, it’s something I’ll never forget,” said Charlie. “I would like to be a watersports instructor and teach sailing. If not my plan B is to go to university and become a history teacher.”