Nothing Is Impossible: The Real-Life Adventures of a Street Magician (16 page)

But in some ways, if I didn’t have the background I have, I don’t think I would have appreciated the experience as much as I did. Knowing where I’d come from, and what I’d had to do to get that invitation, made the day even more special. There was little opportunity in Delph Hill. I could have ended up doing nothing with my life, yet here I was, an invited guest at Clarence House.

The best thing about going to a Prince’s Trust event is that you have all of these successful and inspirational people, who are being recognised for their achievements, around you. I’m always interested in meeting new people who have had interesting lives. At Clarence House, you see charity directors, film-makers, musicians, designers, photographers, business people, entrepreneurs and actors. All types of people doing all sorts of things from all walks of life. The first time I went Brian May from Queen was there and, for some reason, when I looked across the room and saw him I was weirdly star-struck.

After milling about for a short while, we were then separated into small groups. After a brief wait, there was a hush as Prince Charles and Camilla made their entrance. They were brought in by an assistant, who then took them around the room and formally introduced them to everyone. I watched as each person had a brief conversation with the royal couple, shook their hands and then they’d move on. They had a lot of people to meet, so you only had a small window of time with the Prince and his wife.

As I anxiously awaited my turn, I realised I had to go to the toilet. Excusing myself, I sped off to the facilities at double speed, not wanting to miss my slot with Charles and Camilla. Thankfully, the toilet was close to the library so I didn’t have too far to go. Afterwards, I found myself wondering if I’d shared the same throne as the Queen!

I got back just in the nick of time – they were talking to the person next in line to me. As they began to move on, nerves rumbled in my belly. This was it, my moment to show Prince Charles how The Trust’s investment had paid off.

The Prince’s aide introduced us to each other. ‘Your Royal Highness,’ I smiled shyly, taking a little bow. There are very proper rules for meeting royalty. When speaking to Prince Charles, you’re supposed to refer to him as ‘Your Royal Highness’ at first, and then ‘Sir’.

We had a chat about where I was from and my background, and from then on I let my magic do the talking.

I asked him to think of a card and once he’d chosen one, I held out the deck in front of me. Slowly, one card began to rise out of the deck until it hung in mid-air. It was Prince Charles’s card.

‘That’s wonderful,’ Charles laughed as Camilla looked on in amazement.

Not wanting to take up too much of their time, I took another bow so that the next person could have their time with the royal couple.

After they’d moved on, I breathed a sigh of relief and walked off across the room to find myself a glass of water. But then, all of a sudden, I heard a very posh, shrill lady’s voice which stopped me in my tracks. ‘Young man,’ it said. For a second I thought someone was about to accuse me of nicking a vase. However, I spun around only to see Camilla, dragging some kids behind her.
‘Wait, wait, you must show these children,’ she pleaded. She was so impressed; she had literally chased me across the library so I could perform some magic for her friend’s kids. I was well and truly stoked. And the kids loved it.

I’ve met Prince Charles about six or seven times now, but I don’t know what he made of me that first time; I’m not sure they’ve had anyone doing magic in a royal residence for over a century, and if they have, I don’t think they would have looked like me. Obviously, I always put on my best suit when I am invited to Clarence House – imagine what my nan would say if I rolled up in my trainers!

Whenever I see Prince Charles now, he’s like, ‘How are you doing, Dynamo? How’s tricks?’ The Prince is actually pretty cool. I don’t know if he’s given last-minute briefings about the people he is meeting, or if it’s just that he’s very up to date with popular culture, but he’s one of the most well-informed people I’ve ever met.

Prince Charles doesn’t seem to have an agenda. When he asked me a question and I gave him an answer, he really listened to what I was saying. He replied with something that was actually relevant to what I was saying. That really surprised me. He took the time and he made me feel special. As well as telling him where I was from, and how I got into magic. I told him about the bullies and Gramps, and how The Prince’s Trust had given me a £2,000 loan to make my first-ever DVD. He didn’t have to listen to all of that – he’s going to be King at some point; he can do what he wants.

Sometimes he gets a bit of flak, but I think people don’t always understand him. And I believe he gives a lot back with the work he does with The Prince’s Trust.

ALTHOUGH I HAVEN’T
met Prince William yet, I was introduced to Prince Harry a couple of years ago at a charity fund-raising dinner for the International Olympic Committee.

I brought my boy Gilera, who’s also my driver, and Dennis, who does my dance choreography. Wherever I go, I try to take my friends along so that we can experience these things together and share the adventure. I think I’d told them we were going to some sort of sporting event and they turned up in trainers and do-rags. When we turned up at the dinner, it was black tie; everyone was suited and booted, and it took place at the Grosvenor Hotel in London – a very fancy place. My mates felt really uncomfortable and after I had performed, they sloped off somewhere.

I finished my slot with my infamous lean-back where I’m suspended in mid-air, then I went off to try to find the guys. I started up some stairs to a roped-off balcony area which had been reserved for the people who were performing or talking at the event. Even before I got to the top of the stairs, I could hear all this laughter.

When I got there, I found Dennis and Gilera with Prince Harry, joking around. My boys were teaching him some dance moves and Harry was trying to do the lean-back – without much success!

If I’d had to guess who out of all the people downstairs that Harry would have ended up hanging out with, those two would have been last on my list.

Watching them mucking about, it struck me that, essentially, people are people. Harry was really cool, very normal, just a young guy who liked having a laugh – like we all do. It reminded me that if you can see past all of your own preconceptions, it doesn’t matter where someone is from. I love that things like magic, as well as film, literature, music, art, dance, has the incredible ability to transcend class and other divisions in society. It brings people together, people who might ordinarily never have got to meet each other.

I WENT BACK
to Clarence House in 2011 for the thirty-fifth birthday of The Prince’s Trust. There was everyone from Rod Stewart to the Bond girl Gemma Arterton and the actor Dominic West from
The Wire
. Once again, we were split into different groups – I was with Kevin Spacey – and I knew I had that small window to really blow Prince Charles away.

I asked the Prince if he was a gambling man, and then I took out some lottery tickets. With a quick shake, I instantly changed them into a stack of crisp £50 notes. Everyone gasped and Charles chuckled. With that, my time was done but I think I’d impressed him. Charles said he’d like to take me home to perform for his mum. That would be my pleasure, Your Majesty!

My experiences at Clarence House put things in some sort of perspective and allowed me to give myself a small pat on the back. Although the first time I went, I probably thought that I was close to making it, in reality I was years away. But on that first visit, with Camilla chasing me about, and Brian May watching me do my magic, I felt quite proud of how far I’d come. I was trying to create something out of nothing and I didn’t let rejection stand in my way. In the years following, I had to face a lot of disappointments and knock-backs – and I’m sure there are more of those to come. But getting myself in that door with royalty was a real vindication of my early ambition.

I’m incredibly grateful to The Prince’s Trust. I might not be writing this book right now if it weren’t for them. I’m very thankful for the £2,000 start-up loan that they gave me because it enabled me to buy the equipment I needed, but also it let me know that someone had faith in me. The Trust helped me to see that you can achieve things out of the realm of normality.