Prince Charles's charity joins forces with Marvel in support of young designers

Prince Charles’s charity has joined forces with Marvel to unveil superhero-inspired designs.

The collection takes inspiration from “The Avengers” film franchise and has been created by aspiring designers aged 18 to 30 as part of the charity’s three-year mentoring partnership with Disney.

The programme, which launched in spring 2021, aims to help young people “break into the world of fashion and product design”.

The young designers created two Marvel-inspired product ranges, including a gender-neutral clothing collection.

As part of the programme, participants worked with Disney designers, marketers and retail teams to learn about the product design industry and to develop their own items.

The Prince’s Trust, which was founded by the Prince of Wales, helped support the designers throughout this process, while Disney is making a £100,000 donation to the charity each year of the programme.

Sir Ben Kingsley, who plays Trevor Slattery in the Marvel franchise and is a Prince’s Trust ambassador, met with the young designers at a launch event.

“As a proud ambassador for The Prince’s Trust for many years, who’s played a part in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it has been inspiring to meet young people today who have completed the Get Started in Product Design programme delivered by the trust and Marvel,” he said.

“These talented young designers have shown creativity and skill, and it is brilliant to see Marvel supporting the next generation of talent to break into the creative industries.

“I wish the young people all the best as they pursue their careers.”

Frances Milner, director of fundraising and marketing at The Prince’s Trust, said: “We’re thrilled to join forces with Marvel on this unique partnership, creating opportunities for young people that support them to realise their potential.

“The Get Started in Product Design with Marvel course has brought together young people with a diverse range of skill sets and backgrounds to harness their creativity and build their confidence and self-belief.

“The course has also given young people invaluable mentorship and work opportunities, and some of them have now begun exciting careers in the industry.”

Marvel fans can look out for the second collection which celebrates the female superheroes from across the Marvel Universe and is due to launch in spring 2022.

The Marvel and Prince’s Trust collection will be available from The Disney Store and online at shopDisney.

Queen to miss Commonwealth Service

The news of the collaboration comes as Prince Charles will represent his mother at the Commonwealth Service on Monday after officials confirmed the Queen would not be attending the service.

Also absent will be the Duke of Sussex, who announced on Friday that he will also not be travelling back to the UK for his grandfather’s thanksgiving service on March 29 despite plans to travel to the Netherlands for the Invictus Games.

Hours after a spokesman confirmed he won’t be attending the Duke of Edinburgh’s memorial, Prince Harry released a promotional video for the games, which he will attend from April 16.

In the video, the Duke attempts to learn Dutch whilst wearing an orange top, hat and sunglasses.