A host of stars joined the King to celebrate his charitable foundation, but it was rock royalty Sir Rod Stewart who stole the show with a cheeky joke at David Beckham’s expense.
Sir Rod was presenting an award at St James’s Palace, at the first award ceremony for the King’s Foundation, the monarch’s charitable trust.
Asking to say a few words, the star, who was given a knighthood in 2016, said: “Penny and I are so honoured to be ambassadors for the King’s Trust.”
Lady Penny corrected him: “Foundation.”
“B*******,” Sir Rod laughed, adding: “I probably shouldn’t have said that.”
He then said cheekily: “I am also wonderfully honoured to be a knight and, David, yours is coming soon.”
Beckham shook his head and laughed, with Sir Rod later saying he could take a joke.
The former England captain was announced as one of the foundation’s ambassadors last month, when it was revealed he’d spent time with the King talking about beekeeping and how to get younger people connected to nature.
The football star, who said at the event he had cuts on his hands from planting roses at the weekend, often shares videos on his social media accounts of his gardening projects and much-loved chickens.
But this time it was football the King wanted to talk about, asking about England’s defeat to Iceland on Friday ahead of the Euros.
Beckham appeared to say “no, no, I don’t think we should read too much into that”, with the King replying: “It doesn’t really matter, does it? It was a warming-up session.”
Nodding, Beckham said: “Warming up. We’ll be okay.”
The King then offered his own words of wisdom: “Because you don’t want to expend it all in one go at the beginning.”
That left Beckham to sum up: “We’ll be ready, Gareth will be ready.”
The King’s Foundation incorporates many of the monarch’s passions, aiming to revitalise communities through urban regeneration and planning and support sustainable food production and teach rural skills.
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The event was attended by other celebrity supporters, including broadcaster Alan Titchmarsh, former British Vogue editor Edward Enninful, model Naomi Campbell and actress Sienna Miller.
The monarch presented the final award of the evening, the King Charles III Harmony Award, to South Korean diplomat and former UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon.
The King, despite still undergoing cancer treatment, appeared determined to talk to as many people as possible. Sir Rod said he’d told the King he’d had similar procedures.
His wife, Penny Lancaster, added they had nothing but admiration for him and his commitment to service, after spending time with him at the ceremony.
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