{"id":558677,"date":"2026-04-30T12:24:53","date_gmt":"2026-04-30T12:24:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/558677\/"},"modified":"2026-04-30T12:24:53","modified_gmt":"2026-04-30T12:24:53","slug":"lionel-richie-jokes-with-king-charles-at-new-york-gala","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/558677\/","title":{"rendered":"Lionel Richie jokes with King Charles at New York gala"},"content":{"rendered":"

The singer Lionel Richie exchanged jokes with the King, his \u201cwise friend\u201d, at a star-studded gala in New York City.<\/p>\n

The Alabama-born singer, who was joined at the event by celebrities including Donatella Versace, Anna Wintour and Stella McCartney, said that he and the monarch shared \u201cthe same heart\u201d despite their different backgrounds.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The King and Queen hosted the King\u2019s Trust event on Wednesday evening at the end of their visit to the city<\/a>, as part of their US state visit. The gala was to celebrate the \u201cenduring bond\u201d between the UK and US, by showcasing Britain\u2019s cultural impact on New York.<\/p>\n

\"EdwardEdward Enninful, Charles, Camilla, Charlotte Tilbury and Richie Samir Hussein\/Samir Hussein\/WireImage\/GETTY IMAGES<\/p>\n

\"QueenAnna Wintour removes her trademark sunglasses to speak to CamillaChris Jackson\/AFP\/GETTY IMAGES<\/p>\n

Charles, having made two speeches on Tuesday, appeared to ask Richie for tips on protecting his vocal cords, wondering aloud whether the 76-year-old \u201cgargle[s] with port or something\u201d.<\/p>\n

Joined by the Queen, who wore a green chiffon leopard-print dress, he quipped: \u201cI hesitate to make yet another speech.\u201d<\/p>\n

Richie, a King\u2019s Trust global ambassador, introduced Charles to the stage, saying: \u201cI can assure everyone I\u2019m not singing tonight. This is an honour. What an honour \u2026 I actually feel I know this gentleman from the heart.\u201d<\/p>\n

Richie reserved special praise for the King\u2019s address on Capitol Hill<\/a>, and said: \u201cI thought it was brilliant and how he threaded the needle<\/a> \u2026 so brilliant, but [it] brought us back into humanity as only he can do. A friend, giving advice as to what we should be doing, a wise friend.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I met him we didn\u2019t have too much in common in terms of the way we grew up and then we started talking and we realised we\u2019re from the same place. We have the same heart.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"StellaStella McCartneyTheStewartofNY\/FilmMagic\/GETTY IMAGES<\/p>\n

\"DonatellaDonatella VersaceTheStewartofNY\/FilmMagic\/GETTY IMAGES<\/p>\n

\"KatherineKatherine JenkinsTaylor Hill\/\/Getty IMAGES<\/p>\n

Charles, 77, who was diagnosed with an undisclosed form of\u00a0cancer in 2024<\/a>, joked \u201cas we look to the future, I won\u2019t see the long-distance future\u201d, as he urged those in the room to \u201cchampion the next generation\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Praising the \u201cenduring bond\u201d between the UK and US, the King added: \u201cIt\u2019s a wonderful and proud but extraordinary moment to think it\u2019s 50 years since I started this trust. Quite difficult to get it off the ground but we did.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"KingEnninful, Tilbury and the King in conversationSpencer Platt\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

The Queen earlier met Sarah Jessica Parker, the star of Sex and the City, at an event celebrating literature at the New York Public Library. The actress said that Camilla\u2019s visit was \u201cgreat for all New Yorkers\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The singer Lionel Richie exchanged jokes with the King, his \u201cwise friend\u201d, at a star-studded gala in New…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":558678,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[6491,96,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-558677","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-celebrities","tag-celebrities","tag-entertainment","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/558677","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=558677"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/558677\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/558678"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=558677"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=558677"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=558677"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}