King and Queen Consort joined by Princess Anne and Prince Edward to host Olympians reception

Hundreds of Olympic and Paralympic heroes, including Tom Daley and Lauren Steadman, gathered at Buckingham Palace last night for a reception with the King and Queen Consort.

More than 200 medalists who won gold, silver and bronze at the Tokyo 2020 and Beijing 2022 Winter Games were invited to the event to celebrate their incredible achievements.

And the King and Queen consort were in the presence of an Olympian before their guests arrived, as they were joined by silver medalist Princess Anne, as well as Prince Edward and the Duke of Gloucester.

The King couldn’t help but smile as he shook hands with Tom Daley, Olympic gold medalist for diving

It’s the first time the three siblings have been photographed together since the Queen’s funeral last month – but notably Prince Andrew, no longer a working royal, was absent.

An animated King Charles was jovial and grinned, even appearing to punch the air when he met the stars.

The 73-year-old king had a busy day of appointments, including his second weekly audience with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and a reception at the palace to mark the 50th anniversary of the resettlement of British Asians from Uganda.

Still, the new monarch kept his smile as he greeted people all day — and seemed unimpressed by the approaching air date of series five of Netflix series The Crown.

The Queen Consort wore a mauve crushed velvet dress as she chatted with Olympic medalists Laura Collett and Oliver Townend

The King shook hands with stars including Frazer Clarke (left) Imani Lansiquot and Sarah Storey at the reception

Frazer Clarke bowed his head as he shook hands with the king at the reception, with Imani Lansiquot in the background sharing a joke with the queen consort

Tom Daley, who won an Olympic gold medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics in diving, chatted with the king with Jack Laugher and Mathew Lee

King Charles showed Buckingham Palace was back in action when he received the athletes at a reception on Wednesday. Pictured: The King in conversation with Olympic medalists Jack Laugher and Mathew Lee

King Charles III meets Olympic medalists, from left, Eve Muirhead, Jennifer Dodds and Hailey Duff at Buckingham Palace

The King shook hands with the medalists during the second palace reception of the day

The king had a chat with some sports stars in the palace when he welcomed them at the reception

The king seemed a little distracted talking to some of the medalists

It was announced on Tuesday that the series will feature a four-minute rendition of Princess Diana’s 1995 interview with Martin Bashir, which the royal family has vehemently criticized.

After Lord Dyson’s independent review of the BBC panorama interview revealed that Bashir had “acted inappropriately” in obtaining it, Prince William issued a scathing statement calling the incident “unethical” while pleading with the media to never to broadcast it again.

Despite the revelation about the new series, both King Charles and the Prince of Wales have fulfilled their royal duties with a smile today.

Last night they were joined by the Earl of Wessex, patron of the British Paralympic Association, and the Princess Royal, president of the British Olympic Association.

Members of the Team GB rowing team looked smart in navy suits as they beamed for a photo at Buckingham Palace

David Smith, a Paralympic rower, smiled at a photo as he attended the reception at Buckingham Palace

Olympian Tom Daley, who won a gold medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics in diving, was also there

Lauren Steadman, a Paralympian who competes in swimming, triathlon and who has also competed in Strictly Come Dancing, was pictured at the reception

Samantha Kinghorn, a world champion wheelchar racer from Scotland, wore a stylish blue dress and dogtooth blazer as she attended the reception

For the third consecutive Summer Olympics, Team GB won more than 60 medals – with the team winning 64 in Japan, confirming their status as a leading force in world sport.

Paralympics GB finished second in the medal table with 124.

Memorable moments included divers Tom Daley and Matty Lee winning gold on the men’s synchronized 10m platform, while gymnast Max Whitlock retained his bow-tie title.

Dame Sarah Storey won three gold medals at Tokyo 2020 in cycling events, bringing her total Paralympic gold to 17 and making her the most successful British Paralympic athlete, while Hannah Cockroft defended her Paralympic 800m T34 title to win her seventh Paralympic title.

Tokyo 2020’s postponement to the summer of 2021 meant a short six-month hiatus until the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, where Team GB’s curlers performed exceptionally well.

Eve Muirhead led the women’s curling team of Vicky Wright, Jen Dodds and Hailey Duff to gold, while Team GB took men’s silver.