English makeup entrepreneur Charlotte Tilbury wondered if America is “obsessed” with King Charles III, whom she described as a “visionary of our time” in a red carpet interview with Newsweek.

Tilbury sponsored The King’s Trust Global Gala at Casa Cipriani in New York City on May 1, as did Newsweek.

And she heaped praise on the king for the work his flagship charity does to help disadvantaged young people enter the workforce.

Asked how she felt the king was viewed in America, she told Newsweek: “I think, is everyone just obsessed with him? We’re all just obsessed with him, he’s amazing.

“He really is a visionary of our time, he really is. If you think about what he understood about global warming, what he understood about farming … just this trust alone, what he’s done to really help not just the U.K. economy but economies all around the world. And empowered people and changed people’s lives. Some of the stories here tonight are incredible.”

The gala raised $2.5 million for the trust through a celebrity auction and at the end of the night, disco icon Nile Rodgers packed the dance floor, playing hits from his heyday.

Supporters at the star-studded event included Lionel Richie, F.K.A. Twigs, Georgina Chapman, Heidi Klum and Edward Enninful, and they heard moving stories about the trust’s work helping turn lives around.

“He’s helped 94,000 business,” Tilbury said, “he’s added £10bn to the economy in the U.K. It’s [the trust] in 25 countries, it’s amazing and it’s just a privilege and honor to be here tonight.

“He’s such a visionary, the king, he really is on so many levels. His Majesty is just amazing.”

Pioneering U.K. fashion designer Ozwald Boateng got a grant as a teenager from the organization, which was then known as the Prince’s Trust, because Charles was not yet king.

Boateng is now preparing to play a major role in this year’s Met Gala in a few days’ time, on May 5, both as a guest and dressing other stars.

“I was a benefactor … when it was The Prince’s Trust,” he told Newsweek. “I think I was about 17 when I applied for the grant and I got it. It had obviously a big impact.

“As a young man deciding that design was going to be a place of my future, to get that support at an early age was of course huge.

“At the time it allowed me to buy machinery, like a sewing machine … my God, it’s such a long time ago, we’re talking 40-plus years ago.”

Jack Royston is chief royal correspondent for Newsweek, based in London. You can find him on X, formerly Twitter, at @jack_royston and read his stories on Newsweek’s The Royals Facebook page.

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