Charles, Prince of Wales (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is the heir apparent to the British throne as the eldest son of Elizabeth II. He has been Duke of Cornwall and Duke of Rothesay since 1952, and he is the oldest and longest-serving heir apparent in British history.
He is also the longest-serving Prince of Wales, having held that title since 1958. Charles was born at Buckingham Palace as the first grandchild of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth. He was educated at Cheam and Gordonstoun schools, which his father, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, had attended as a child. Charles also spent a year at the Timbertop campus of Geelong Grammar School in Victoria, Australia.
Elton John has been a close friend of the royal family for decades - and is privy to many of their well-kept secrets.The pop icon, whose pre-recorded performance was projected onto Buckingham Palace at the Platinum Jubilee concert, is well-known to have shared a special friendship with the late Princess Diana.He first met the royal at Prince Andrew's 21st birthday party held at Windsor Castle in 1981, shortly before her wedding to Prince Charles - and they hit it off immediately.During the lavish party, the Rocket Man singer ended up on the dance floor with the Queen, while she was still holding onto her handbag, the Mirror reports.In his 2019 book Me, the musician recalled: "Princess Anne asked me to dance with her to Hound Dog by Elvis Presley.
Well, I say 'dance': I ended up just awkwardly shuffling from foot to foot, trying to make as little noise as I could so that I didn't drown out the music."Then the Queen appeared, carrying her handbag.
She walked over and asked if she could join us."So now I was trying to dance as inaudibly as possible with Princess Anne and the Queen — still holding her handbag — while what appeared to be the world's quietest disco played Bill Haley."I tried my best to come up with a facial expression that suggested this was a perfectly normal state of affairs."The 75-year-old performed a tear-jerking rendition of Candle in the Wind at Diana's funeral in September 1997 and has remained close with her sons, Prince William and Prince Harry.The following year he was knighted by the Queen, who he once witnessed "slapping" another member of the royal family.At another party for Prince Andrew's 21st birthday party at Windsor Castle, Elton saw the Queen discipline Viscount Linley, who is her sister
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