How Prince Charles Helped a Former Prisoner Reclaim His Life: 'He Is on the Frontline with Young People'
London tailor Tanguy Viaud was able to turn the struggles he faced during his teen years — brought on by gangs, drug dealing and ending in prison — into a successful adulthood.
And he did it with the help of Prince Charles’ youth charity, the Prince’s Trust.
Viaud grasped the opportunity the organization presented for training, and he eventually became a tailor (charging $3,200 a suit!). He continues to be mentored by another Trust ambassador, jeweler Elizabeth Galton, whose designs at her previous position at Mappin & Webb, have been worn by Kate Middleton.
When he ascends to the throne, Charles, who was feted for his 70th birthday this week, may not have the same time – or energy – to devote to the philanthropic ventures that he’s made his own during his five decades of public life. But Viaud, who is one of nearly one million young people — often from disadvantaged backgrounds — that the trust has helped get into training, education and employment, believes it will be seen as “an important legacy,” he tells PEOPLE in this week’s issue.
Dame Martina Milburn, head of the Prince’s Trust, adds, “I think history will see him as the great innovator and inspiration that he has been.”
After leaving prison following an eight-month sentence for intent to supply drugs (his sentence was cut to three for good behavior), Viaud, 28, enrolled into one of the Trust’s courses, which led him to Savile Row tailor Maurice Sedwell.
“The Trust has given me purpose. It has enabled me to go on a journey of finding who I am as a person. I now don’t have to live a life where I have to look over my shoulder and for what I do,” Viaud says.
“I’m capable of making people love themselves through my work, a bespoke suit does work wonders for an individual. It is a very intimate thing. I get a thrill out of people enjoying my clothing, it gives me peace of mind.”
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Viaud, who was born in Paris, France, and came to east London when he was 4, has met the prince a number of times.
“He is such a hands-on guy with the charity. He is on the frontline with young people. He is just so easy to talk to. He is not intimidating. He is full of wisdom and love.”
“You can say anything to him and he won’t be stuck up about it, and he takes it on the chin and laughs it off. One of the times he complimented me on my tattoos. It’s nice to have somebody who’s royalty compliment me about them.”
Viaud says he receives regular mentoring from Galton — something that is all part of the Trust’s ethos too.
“We have kept each other in the loop. She has helped make what I do become a bespoke experience – not just in my workcraft but in how I approach everything. It is creative advice and professional advice.”
