The Queen, Kate Middleton, Prince Charles and William’s unlikely celeb friends

The Royal Family meet thousands of people every year at a whole host of events, engagements and parties. And, every so often they are pictured sharing a laugh with some more notable faces which always leads the public to question if they are truly as close as they look.

There are a huge number of celebrities who have gone on to reveal anecdotes from the times they have been pictured laughing or chatting with the royals, whether it was when Harry Potter star Miriam Margolyes was told to “be quiet” by The Queen or when actress Emilia Clarke revealed that she struggled to get more than one word out as she greeted Prince William.

But among the many interactions, there are a number of celebrities who have made the cut and could be considered friends of the royals. So from The Queen to Prince Charles and from The Duchess of Cambridge to Princess Eugenie, who are the famous faces that have made their mark in the royals’ inner circles?

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The Queen:

Sir David Attenborough has been a close associate of the Royal Family for many years – having first met Prince Charles and Princess Anne in 1958 as they watched a children’s television show be filmed. The famed environmentalist has also been pictured with The Queen many times before and even helped to produce one of her previous Christmas messages.

In 2018, the pair walked through the Buckingham Palace gardens and joked about a sundial that had been placed in the shade. Sir David said: “I was going to say… sundial neatly planted in the shade…”

The monarch seemingly agrees before realising Sir David’s irony: “Isn’t it good, yes.” Looking amused and slightly bewildered, the Queen turns to an aide behind the camera and with a huge smile asks: “Had we thought of that… that it was planted in the shade?

Sir David is also close with Prince William as he played a huge role in his Earthshot Prize. In late 2020, he also spoke to Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis and answered their burning questions about animals.

He told Prince George that he hopes no more animals will become extinct, he expressed his shared love for spiders with Princess Charlotte, before telling young Prince Louis that his favourite animals are monkeys because “they’re such fun.”

Prince Charles:

While Prince Charles is famously friends with everyone from Richard E Grant to Joan Rivers and even Joanna Lumley, it is well-known that he shares a close bond with gardener and TV presenter, Alan Titchmarsh.

Titchmarsh has been linked to the heir to the throne for many years as they are known to bond over their love of nature. The pair have even collaborated on several TV and radio shows which have highlighted the environmental benefits of gardening.

In an interview with the BBC, Titchmarsh praised the prince and said: “The Prince of Wales, the work he has done for this country, the work he has done for the youth of this country with the Prince’s Trust, with the Prince’s Youth Business Trust is self-evident.

“If you look at what he’s achieved during his life, we need to value that as well. It’s very easy to judge other people on their family, but we don’t know the inside stories in all these families.”

The Duchess of Cornwall:

The Duchess of Cornwall has a very famous circle of close celebrity friends, many of whom have taken part in her Reading Room Book Club.

The list includes former MP and author Gyles Brandreth, Stephen Fry and Hilary Mantel.

One of Camilla’s closest celebrity friends is Dame Judi Dench. Not only has she taken part in the Reading Room, but she was been pictured with the duchess at an engagement in 2018. The pair were visiting Queen Victoria’s former home of Osborne on The Isle of Wight and were photographed enjoying an ice cream together on the beach.

Another notable face to share a close bond with Camilla is comedian and TV presenter, Paul O’Grady. The pair are often pictured together at events for Battersea Dogs and Cats home as Camilla is the patron of the charity.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge:

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have a number of close friends who are predominately from their school and university days. However, they have also crossed paths with several celebrities too.

Whether it is Ed Sheeran or the band members of Coldplay, the couple appear to associate with similar celebs time and again. While this is certainly true, the couple are also known to be close with the likes of David and Victoria Beckham as the famous couple received an invite to the royal wedding in 2011.

As for Prince William, he has a link to Elton John as Princess Diana was a good friend of the singer. Actor Eddie Redmayne has also spoken about his school days with William at Eton saying: “I did play rugby with Prince William. I always felt a bit sorry for him because basically any school you played, all they wanted to do was tackle Prince William and they could say, ‘I tackled Prince William.'”

While The Duchess of Cambridge opened up about her feelings of ‘mum guilt’ during an appearance on Giovanna Fletcher’s podcast, ‘Happy Mum Happy Baby’, another celebrity that she is particularly close with his iconic TV chef, Dame Mary Berry. The pair have been pictured baking together on numerous occasions – with Mary even managing to get Kate to spill secrets on her early days of living with Prince William.

Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie:

Singer Ellie Goulding has a surprising number of royal friendships, from The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge to Prince Harry. But the royals who she is thought to be closest to are Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie.

During a 2019 appearance on Michael McIntyre’s Big Show, Ellie had to hand over her phone to the host so that he could send a message of his choosing to all of her contacts.

When reading out the results later in the show, Michael asked the singer who ‘Beatrice’ was before he connected the dots. In the message, the princess referred to Goulding as “my dearest friend I love so dearly” which prompted the singer to get emotional.

Goulding aside, the royal sisters are also known to be good friends with everyone from Cara Delevingne, Robbie Williams, Ed Sheeran and James Blunt.

Have a story you think we should be covering? Email rebecca.russell@reachplc.com.