King Charles Tells Elton John We’re Still Standing, at 78
King Charles marked his 78th birthday on Saturday, November 14, 2026, by joking with Sir Elton John that they were still standing. He guest-hosted a special Rocket Hour episode on Apple Music marking 50 years of The King's Trust, picking songs from Muse to the Beatles.
King Charles marked his 78th birthday on Saturday, November 14, 2026, by joking with Sir Elton John that they were both still standing, in a special episode of John's Apple Music radio show, Rocket Hour.
The episode celebrates 50 years of The King's Trust, the youth charity Charles founded. It features music from artists the charity has supported over its history.
The joke
The pair recalled a Rock Gala at Wembley Arena in 1986, where John performed his hit I'm Still Standing. Charles said people in all kinds of circumstances find the song inspiring for its spirit and its message of resilience.
"And certainly 40 years on from that remarkable concert, we and the Trust are definitely still standing," the king said.
John, who turns 80 in March, answered: "I'm still sitting now, though." The reply drew laughter from Charles.
"With occasional bits dropping off here and there," the king went on. "I know this is a terrible problem as we get older."
Both men have had well-documented health problems in recent years. The king is still undergoing cancer treatment, and John has had trouble with his eyesight.
The king's playlist
Charles chose All You Need Is Love by the Beatles as his most meaningful song. "Well, there can surely be nothing more meaningful than love," he said.
He recalled watching a performance of it at the Party at the Palace concert for his late mother's Golden Jubilee. He named Paul McCartney, Rod Stewart and Joe Cocker among the performers.
He also picked Giant by Calvin Harris and Rag'n'Bone Man. And he chose In the Air Tonight as a tribute to Phil Collins, a longtime supporter of the trust, who is being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a solo artist on Saturday.
Rod Stewart's Handbags and Gladrags made the list partly for the Stereophonics, who began their career with help from the trust. Muse, performing Feeling Good, also featured.
From a small grant to stadiums
Charles said the band, then known as Rocket Baby Dolls, received a small grant in 1994 to buy audio equipment. It later became one of the biggest stadium bands in the world under the name Muse.
Buckingham Palace said the group later played a sold-out Royal Albert Hall concert in aid of the trust in 2018.
Charles founded the Prince's Trust in 1976 with his Royal Navy severance pay, to help disadvantaged young people prepare for work, find jobs or start businesses. It became the King's Trust after he took the throne in 2022. The charity says it has supported more than one million young people.
John chose Elvis Presley's Hound Dog. He said his mother brought the record home one Friday and told him she had never heard anything like it. "If you champion a young artist and show you believe in them, it makes all the difference," he said of the trust's work.
How to listen
The episode was recorded last month at the Apple Music studios in Battersea power station, south London. It airs free on Apple Music 1 on Saturday at 5pm and 10pm, and on Sunday at 2am and 6am.
It also airs on Sunday at 10am and 2pm on both Apple Music 1 and Apple Music Hits. Rocket Hour is a weekly show that has aired globally on Apple Music 1 since 2015.
