Fourteen years as a Scout has been an endless adventure for one teenager, but his latest escapade was the grandest by far.

Ben King, 19, was a steward at the Royal Garden Party attended by the Queen, the Duke of Edinburgh, the Duchess of Cambridge, Prince Charles and his wife Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall at Buckingham Palace.

Ben, who is an assistant scout leader at the 5th Southgate Scout Troop, manned the information desk with two of his comrades from the party of Network Scouts who were stewarding the event last Wednesday.

The 20 Scouts chatted to the crowd of Olympians, Paralympians and faith leaders gathered at the event before being shown around the palace.

Ben said: “Up to now the best bits of being a Scout have been the chance to take part in camps and adventurous activities. I went to Namibia to help sent up an orange grove to support a local community and to start a Scout group there, and I also went to Denmark to a huge jamboree.

“Through Scouting I have friends all over the world – but going to the Palace was a different sort of amazing experience.”

Ben started helping out at the 5th Southgate Scout Troop when he was 18.

He said: “After all I’ve got out of Scouting I wanted to put something back. I’ve been training as a chef for the past three years which means 60 hour weeks with some unsociable hours, but being part of a team of leaders means I can still play my part by being flexible with my volunteering.

"Seeing the young people I work with develop is a huge reward and I have a lot of fun too."