THIRTEEN-year-old Max Woosey, who became known as the ‘Boy in the Tent’, has been handed an official invitation to the Coronation of King Charles III.
The determined youngster spent three years camping out to raise in excess of £750,000 for North Devon Hospice after being inspired by family friend and neighbour Rick Abbot who died of cancer in 2020.
Shortly before his passing, Mr Abbot gave Max a tent and told him to “have an adventure”.
And what an adventure he has had – particularly as it will now be topped off with a trip to London as an official guest to the Coronation of King Charles which is set to take place on Saturday May 6 2023 at Westminster Abbey.
It comes only a fortnight after he received confirmation that his three years of sleeping outside had been officially recognised by the Guinness Book of World Records as raising the most money for charity through camping.
“I only set out to have an adventure and raise £100,” explained the teenager.
“It is crazy that it has got so much attention but I hope it makes people see that children are capable of a lot more than people think.”
Max’s epic camp out, which saw him use more than a dozen tents, was mainly held in his home town of Braunton in Devon, but he also raised awareness of his campaign by pitching up at the Exeter Chiefs rugby stadium as well as the garden of 10 Downing Street where he met then Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
His remarkable endeavours were recognised last year when he was awarded the British Empire Medal.
“It’s been the best three years of my life,” he told the BBC as he detailed some of the problems he had faced under canvas in winter.
“The worst night was when the tent collapsed. It was chucking it down with high winds, it was 12 o’clock at night and we couldn’t find another tent to pitch up.”
READ MORE: Camping in the wind
Max’s proud mum Rachael also spoke of some of the difficulties – particularly attempting to find a compromise on when to call time on his incredible feat of endurance.
“Any time we mentioned him stopping there would be tears and tantrums,” she laughed.
“And then after Christmas he toyed with the idea. So we tried to back off and then he said three years was enough and he wanted to focus on other things.”
Donate to the Boy in the Tent’s charity
You can still donate to Max’s fundraiser – a ‘thank you’ to the staff at North Devon Hospice for the care they gave to Mr Abbot – here… Max’s Big Campout run by North Devon Hospice.
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