A magician impressed the Prince of Wales by performing a mind trick on him as the royal visited a bank in Brixton.

Heir to the throne Charles was meeting young entrepreneurs helped by his youth charity the Prince’s Trust at a NatWest branch in south London.

The prince encountered performer Chris Reads Minds, who asked him to think of a colour, a number and the name of a person, with Charles replying “blue, 12 and George” – the latter seemingly a nod to his eldest grandson Prince George.

The magician went on to reveal one of his own business cards, which was hidden in a sealed envelope in a wallet, on which identical answers had been written.

Wandsworth Times:

Charles chuckled and remarked: “Very impressive. It really is.”

The magician, real name Chris Wall, was supported by the trust in his bid to become a full-time magician when he became unemployed after a work contract ended in 2019 just before the start of the pandemic.

He joined the trust’s four-day Explore Enterprise Course and then its Boost Your Business programme, and received a grant from the Entreprise Relief Fund.

The Trust and NatWest set up the Enterprise Relief Fund during the Covid-19 crisis to provide emergency grants – totalling £3.7 million – to young people under 30 who were self-employed and ran a business but did not qualify for government support.

Charles was greeted by crowds of people, who clamoured to shake his hand as he left the branch.

Wandsworth Times:

One man asked him “How is your mother?” with Charles giving him a reassuring pat on the arm, and appearing to say: “She’s alright, thank you.”

The Queen, 95, has been under doctors’ order to rest during the past three weeks after undergoing preliminary tests and spending a night in hospital on October 20.

Buckingham Palace previously said it is the monarch’s “firm intention” to attend the Remembrance Sunday service at the Cenotaph on Sunday.