Long-time royal-watchers know that the more Prince Harry & Meghan are attacked for doing something specific, the more likely that another royal is going to copy or colonize whatever it is the Sussexes are doing. The Windsors and the royalist media don’t even bother hiding their agendas or their double-standards at this point. They discuss it quite openly – Harriet Sperling is allowed to talk about the Windsors in a Hello Magazine cover story *because* she’s not the Duchess of Sussex. Prince William is allowed to guest-edit a magazine *because* he’s not Meghan. As it turns out, royals appearing on podcasts are totally fine, just as long as those royals are not Harry and Meghan. This time, King Charles is the one appearing on a terribly un-royal podcast: Elton John’s Rocket Hour pod on Apple. From Tom Sykes’ piece in the Royalist Substack, which I’m using because Sykes seems like the only one pointing out Charles’s very odd positioning.
In a bizarre move, King Charles will appear on Elton John’s podcast this weekend — just after the singer and Prince Harry tried to revive their doomed and divisive case against the Daily Mail.
The King’s camp has previously made it known that he has no desire to be involved in Harry’s many legal struggles. So why publicly collaborate with his son’s most famous co-plaintiff the week after John and Harry sought permission to launch a legal appeal?
The podcast episode drops on the King’s 78th birthday, Nov. 14. He’ll use the airtime to support musicians involved with The King’s Trust, his admirable youth initiative that turns 50 this year. John is a global icon. It makes sense that the King would want the singer to amplify this message.
But aside from the awkward legal action, John is one of the few remaining A-listers who still seems willing to associate publicly with Harry and Meghan. He was also famously Team Diana during the War of the Waleses. Is the King trying to project that he’s leaving past petty conflicts behind? Or is he verging on tacit approval of his son’s actions, even in the courtroom?
Of course, it’s likely the episode was recorded prior to last week’s news about the appeal. Reports say John and Charles got on the mic together in October. But even before the appeal announcement, Harry and John’s case wasn’t done and dusted: the plaintiffs were waiting to hear whether they’d have to pay up to £34.5 million (or $46.7 million) in legal fees to Associated Newspapers over the next few months.
Harry and his co-plaintiffs lost the case spectacularly back in July, but announced their intention to appeal on Nov. 6. For Harry, this case was the latest in a long line of controversial lawsuits against the British media. There’s precedent for the British Royal Family suing journalism outlets, but the institution has historically taken a much, much more conservative approach than the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have.
Potentially adding insult to injury, Harry appeared to insult the King’s own High Court judge Mr. Justice Nicklin — appointed by the late Queen — afterward. Harry called the ruling “a complete and obvious whitewash” and “an inconsistency which is hard to understand or reconcile with common sense” in a statement.
It wasn’t surprising when sources told The Royalist that the King “has no wish to be linked to any court proceedings” undertaken by his prodigal son. His appearance on John’s podcast poses the question: is that still the case?
Predating the Elton-Harry lawsuit, Charles had already done a lot to co-opt (“colonize”) Elton. Charles did the same with many of Diana’s celebrity friends after Diana’s death. Charles and the left-behinds do the same with any celebrity associated with Harry and Meghan nowadays as well, which is why there was so much hysteria around “which side will David Beckham choose.” That being said, Elton has been around the block and then some – because he’s such a worldwide icon, he gets to maintain a friendship with Charles AND the Sussexes and no one says he has to choose. As for Sykes’ questions about what message it sends, re: the Mail lawsuit and appeal… it’s interesting. I don’t have an answer. Maybe Charles doesn’t care either way? Or maybe it’s some kind of signal that Charles tacitly approves of Elton and Harry’s lawsuit? Eh.
Photos courtesy of Cover Images.
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- (Left to right) David Furnish, Sir Elton John, King Charles III and Apple executive chairman Tim Cook during a visit to Battersea Power Station, London, to meet the first cohort taking part in the newly launched Apple x King’s Trust Creative Labs, a series of specialised workshops to help equip young people with the technology, resources and in-demand industry skills needed to realise their potential and move into work. Featuring: (Left to right) David Furnish, Sir Elton John, King Charles III and Apple executive chairman Tim Cook Where: London, United Kingdom When: 06 Oct 2026 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- King Charles III meets Elton John as he arrives for the Royal Variety Performance at the Royal Albert Hall Featuring: King Charles III, Elton John Where: London, United Kingdom When: 22 Nov 2024 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- (Left to right) David Furnish, Sir Elton John and King Charles III during a visit to Battersea Power Station, London, to meet the first cohort taking part in the newly launched Apple x King’s Trust Creative Labs, a series of specialised workshops to help equip young people with the technology, resources and in-demand industry skills needed to realise their potential and move into work. Featuring: (Left to right) David Furnish, Sir Elton John and King Charles III Where: London, United Kingdom When: 06 Oct 2026 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- (Left to right) David Furnish, Sir Elton John, King Charles III and Apple executive chairman Tim Cook during a visit to Battersea Power Station, London, to meet the first cohort taking part in the newly launched Apple x King’s Trust Creative Labs, a series of specialised workshops to help equip young people with the technology, resources and in-demand industry skills needed to realise their potential and move into work. Featuring: (Left to right) David Furnish, Sir Elton John, King Charles III and Apple executive chairman Tim Cook Where: London, United Kingdom When: 06 Oct 2026 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
Maybe Elton is a kind of back channel between Charles & Harry? If he & Harry share legal advisors all those communications would be privileged & inaccessible to media, grey men, etc.
I have a hard time with this because Sir Elton had such a history with Diana, and he saw firsthand how Charles caused her so much pain.
#TeamDiana
All that his proves is that the narrative that chucky couldnt see Harry, take his calls or speak to him BECAUSE HE DOESNT WANT TO APPEAR TO BE INFLUENCING OR INTERFERING IN THE COURT CASES FROM 2019 TO DATE, was and is A STINKING PILE OF HORSE MANURE.
Hmmm, interesting event esp given the backlash against Scooter when he appeared on the Graham Norton show a few weeks ago to promote Earthshot – there were hundreds of complaints about it.
Interesting times ahead in the House of Windsor.
Elton John is a professional friend and remains loyal as long on no one turns on him. He doesn’t have to choose between royal camps because they’re never going to bad-mouth him, and since he was knighted by QEII, he owes Charles nothing. All that said, Elton is famously catty and loves when hot tea is served.
Of course there are unfair double standards and a lot of hypocrisy in the way the media and the royal family treat the Sussexes. especially Meghan. That is by design. It is a huge part of the abuse and bullying. A deliberate adding insult to injury with all the injustice that accompany the smears.
I think this is more about Swansong- showing that Charles is friendly with someone that Diana was famously friendly with so oh he can’t be as cold as Charles Spencer depicted him as.
The only signal it sends is the Royal Family is desperate for attention, popularity and relevance and the Palace thinks putting Charles on a podcast with Elton John will do that. That’s all.
“Choosing sides” is a childish,malicious and very much a RR, BM, and Windsor constant. Not everyone in the world thinks that way. Obviously Elton can support one of Charles’s good causes without compromising his support, loyalty and I believe affection for the Sussexes.