The King convened his third annual Youth Opportunity Summit today alongside Sir Gareth Southgate, the King's Trust Goodwill Ambassador, as Britain grapples with its most severe youth unemployment crisis since the pandemic.
The gathering unveiled a major new initiative from the King's Trust, developed in partnership with the former England manager, which will create a nationwide network of mentors, coaches and training programmes designed to equip young people for the workplace.
Prior to the monarch's arrival, attendees took part in individual mentoring sessions with figures from business, sport, civil society and media, including Benedict Cumberbatch, David Lammy and Tom Davis.
The summit follows previous events at St James's Palace in 2024 and 2025, which focused on youth violence and the creative industries, respectively.
King Charles hosted a summit with Gareth Southgate to tackle the current youth unemployment crisis
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Today's summit comes as official figures from the Office for National Statistics on May 28 revealed that more than 1,012,000 individuals between 16 and 24 were not in education, employment or training during the first quarter of 2026.
The data showed a quarterly increase of 55,000 young people dropping out of both the workforce and the education system.
An interim report led by former Labour health secretary Alan Milburn identified what he termed a "whole system failure" affecting nearly one in seven young Britons in this age bracket.
The review warned that youth joblessness represents the most "significant challenge facing our country today" and risks producing a "lost generation."
Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Secretary David Lammy (centre) during a Youth Opportunity Summit, at Buckingham Palace
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Mr Milburn cautioned that without action, the number of unemployed young people could reach 1.25 million within five years.
The review painted a stark picture of a transformed labour market, with 1.6 million fewer low and medium-skilled jobs now available across the economy.
Hospitality positions have halved over four years, while apprenticeship numbers have fallen by 35 per cent in the past decade.
According to the findings, six in 10 young people have never been employed, with anxiety linked to social media identified as a major factor driving economic inactivity.
Benedict Cumberbatch during a Youth Opportunity Summit, at Buckingham Palace
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Those who remain Neet between 18 and 24 face potential lifetime earnings losses of £300,000, the report found.
"Opportunities are not growing, they're shrinking," Mr Milburn warned, adding that Britain "faces a generational fault line."
He firmly rejected characterisations of young people as lazy or disinterested, noting that 84 per cent of those classified as Neet expressed a desire to work.
Mr Milburn dismissed "the caricature of a generation that is not interested in work," warning that too many young people were heading for a "life not in jobs, but on benefits."
Tom Davis during a Youth Opportunity Summit, at Buckingham Palace
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Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden described the latest Neet statistics as "stark," stating they "underline the importance of Alan Milburn's report which I commissioned because we cannot afford to lose a generation of young people."
The Government responded with what Mr McFadden called the most substantial youth employment reforms in a generation, aiming to create 500,000 opportunities for young people through measures including a Youth Jobs Grant for businesses launching next month, expanded apprenticeships and subsidised employment schemes.
The King's Trust, founded by the monarch in 1976 when he was the Prince of Wales, celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, having supported more than 1.3 million young people since its inception.