A teenager who helped vulnerable people in his community by making gift hampers during the pandemic while battling cancer has been invited to the King’s coronation.
Sahil Usman was diagnosed with leukaemia when he was 13.
Two years’ later when Covid ravaged the nation he decided he wanted to do something to help and so created 300 hampers with essentials to give to elderly people across Blackburn.
Before that, in 2018, Sahil spent his own money on buying Christmas gifts, gloves and hats for other patients on his ward, a tradition which he continued for two years.
As a result of his selflessness, he has been invited to be front and centre when King Charles is crowned in May at Westminster Abbey.
He told Lancashire Telegraph: “I was at sixth form and I came back home, and my mum told me that there was an email saying I was invited to the King’s Coronation.
“Initially I wouldn’t believe it because I thought, why had I been invited to the King’s Coronation? But then as the news came out about the Coronation then I was like yes it is a genuine email.
“It was a really exciting and an honourable moment because it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity to go and see the King’s Coronation in person.”
Shanaz Usman, Sahil’s mum, added she is "really proud” of her son.
Sahil’s invite is one of 850 given to local heroes as he decided to axe centuries of royal tradition.
From fundraisers to firefighters and carers to community workers, Britain’s local heroes are to play a key role in the event.
Charles will do away with centuries of tradition by inviting 850 ordinary people with extraordinary stories in place of law-makers and peers to celebrate the start of his reign.
Also among them will be Max Woosey, 13, who camped in his garden for three years to rake in more than £600,000 for a local hospice.
Organisers said: “The King insisted on celebrating this momentous event with the people who have made a difference in their communities and make Britain what it is today.”
The Coronation is expected to be far shorter and less extravagant than Queen Elizabeth’s three-hour 1953 ceremony, in keeping with the King’s plans for a slimmed-down monarchy.
A royal source added: “Of course there is a tremendous amount of deference to the traditions of the past but this occasion will truly represent the world in which we live in, a People’s Coronation.
“When the eyes of the world will be on Britain, people like Max, who have gone above and beyond to help communities, are the essence of such an event.”
