How Did King Charles & Rod Stewart Become Friends?

Friendships between British royalty and celebrities have fascinated the public for decades. Some of the royal family's friendships end up being quite controversial, such as Prince Andrew's dubious connection to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, while others don't get as much media attention, like Queen Camilla's bond with Angelina Jolie, which is predominantly based on their shared commitment to humanitarian work. Perhaps the most famous pair of royal-celebrity friends were Princess Diana and Elton John, who memorably changed the lyrics of his hit song "Candle in the Wind" in honor of the beloved royal following her untimely passing, and performed the new version at Diana's heartbreaking funeral in 1997.

Much like his late ex-wife, King Charles III also struck up a friendship with a legendary musician: Rod Stewart. The two haven't shared details about their relationship, but they seemingly became close after meeting at various royal events, and Stewart supported Charles' long-running charity, the Prince's Trust (later renamed the King's Trust following his coronation). The "First Cut Is the Deepest" hitmaker's connection with the royal dates at least back to 1986 when he was one of the acts featured at the Prince's Trust's 10th-anniversary concert, which was naturally attended by both Charles and his then-wife Diana.

In 2006, Stewart and Charles were photographed chatting happily at a Buckingham Palace garden party for the charity. The unlikely duo also appeared pretty chummy when they greeted each other at a gala concert at which Stewart performed in Philadelphia the following year. Camilla, who was reportedly a longtime fan of the singer, may have also helped bring the two closer together as she invited Stewart to perform at the 60th birthday bash that she threw for Charles in 2008. Stewart notably agreed to perform several of his hit songs, including "Maggie May," at the event free of charge (he typically charged £1 million). 

King Charles III and Rod Stewart have continued to maintain a close relationship over the years thanks to their shared passion for charity work. In addition to being a longtime ambassador of the King's Trust, the monarch named Rod Stewart and his wife Penny Lancaster ambassadors for another one of his charities, The King's Foundation, which provides training and courses for a wide variety of skills, including painting, embroidery, and furniture making, in January 2025. During their first official event as advocates, the celebrity couple joined Charles at Dumfries House in Scotland for the charity's 35th anniversary time capsule ceremony, where the two pals displayed their playful side in an adorable interaction. 

As Charles was putting items into the time capsule, he jokingly pointed a pair of pruning shears in Stewart's direction, as seen in a clip shared on The Royal Family's YouTube Channel. The musician gamely played along and pretended to be scared, leading Charles to burst into laughter as Stewart grinned widely in amusement. Aside from their charitable endeavors, the king has also bonded with Stewart over their health struggles. While attending the first-ever King's Foundation Awards in June 2024, Charles, who was diagnosed with an undisclosed form of cancer that February, talked to Stewart about working while undergoing cancer treatment — something that the prolific musician can definitely relate to.

 "[Charles] had treatment today, he told me. I went through all that. I had treatment five days a week. Like him, I was still working. He's remarkable," Stewart enthused at the time, per the Daily Mail. The Grammy winner privately battled prostate cancer for two years before proudly announcing in 2019 that he had beaten the disease and was in remission.