Declan Donnelly, one half of the Ant and Dec double act, apologised to Charles on behalf of Anthony McPartlin, who was looking after his newborn son.

The King has been told by TV star Declan Donnelly that his celebrity partner Anthony McPartlin was missing from a Buckingham Palace reception because he was breastfeeding.

Donnelly, one half of the Ant and Dec double act, apologised to Charles on behalf of his friend McPartlin, who was looking after his newborn son.

The TV star was attending a reception hosted by the King which celebrated a group of young people who have turned their lives around with support from The Prince’s Trust.

The event came before Rishi Sunak called a General Election for July 4, after the King granted his request to dissolve Parliament.

Donnelly said after meeting the King: “I passed on Ant’s apology that he couldn’t be here today because he was at home breastfeeding.”

He added with a laugh: “I don’t know whether I broke royal protocol by giving that information.”

McPartlin announced the birth of his son on Instagram with a black and white image of him holding his new son, Wilder Patrick McPartlin, close to his chest.

Commenting on rumours he was the newborn’s godfather, Donnelly said he had not been formally asked, adding “everybody else has presumed, I won’t presume”.

The reception gave the King the chance to meet the winners at the Prince’s Trust awards – and he chatted to recipients and celebrities who had presented the awards, including actor Martin Freeman, Pixie Lott and Ellie Simmonds.