The King faced a tricky moment in his second line-up of the night as Sir Rod Stewart raised the issue of his recent trip to the United States, telling the monarch of President Trump: 'You put that little ratbag in his place.'

The singer said: 'Hello Sir. May I say well done in the Americas. You were superb. Absolutely superb. You put that little ratbag in his place.'

The King's reply was indistinct, apart from a subsequent mention later in the conversation of 'yes exactly', as Stewart replied: 'It went right over his head'. There was speculation this could be a reference to the King's well-received speech in Congress.

Royal sources stressed that as it could not be heard what His Majesty said he shouldn't be seen as agreeing with the star.

The King also met singers Rita Ora, Anne-Marie and Craig David, as well as actor Lucian Laviscount and presenters Fleur East, Sam Thompson and Tyler West, who did a 'fist bump' with the monarch, joking: 'Every single time!'

At the end of the show there was a fun moment as the King and Queen secretly slipped out of the Royal Box without the audience noticing before they were unexpectedly introduced on stage as 'the nation's favourite couple' instead of Ant and Dec.

The camera then switched to the television presenters who had equally quietly crept into their seats in the Royal Box.

Ant was heard to say as the camera panned to them: 'Sorry, sorry. There seems to have been a terrible mix up.'

Dec laughed: 'Oh I don't know. I could get used to this. At least for the first time on stage they'll know which one's which.'

Ant replied to laughs: 'There is that. Hold on if you're down there and we're up here, does that mean we're running the country?'

'That would be a terrible mistake,' said Dec.

'I don't know, you know, I've always fancied my head on a stamp, ' said Ant.

'That would have to be a big stamp,' joked Dec.

In an off-the-cuff speech the King described it as a 'jolly good joke' and jested: 'I've always wondered if someone would put Ant and Dec back in their box. '

The King said it was 'hard to believe 50 years had gone by since we managed to start this trust', adding: 'All I can say is that it wasn't easy in those days. A lot of people thought it was a bad idea. Anyway we managed it.

What I wanted to do more than anything else was to invest in the potential talents of so many young people who, just for the lack of self-esteem and self-confidence, found it very difficult to know what to do'.

He also thanked all the 'wonderful' mentors, staff, the sponsors, the donors and the ambassadors who 'make the whole thing work. 'I can waive my arms around and hope for the best but they deliver on the ground,' he beamed.

He added that he was 'hugely proud' of all them and the young people they have helped.

The King got several huge rounds of applause and thanks.