The royal family's UNLIKELY friendships: From Ellie Goulding to Rihanna

March 28, 2019 - 13:54 GMT Chloe Ash

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Most people can only dream of being friends with someone famous, but imagine being friends with a member of the royal family - it would be pretty cool, right? From getting invitations to attend a royal wedding to attending the coolest parties, there are definitely benefits to being BFFs with royalty! HELLO! have gathered a list of the royals' best celebrity pals, have a look for yourself…

Prince William and Eddie Redymane

The Duke of Cambridge and Eddie both attended Eton school, where the Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them star and Prince William were both elected to be part of The Eton Society, an elite group of elected prefects. The pair played on the same rugby team and were publicly pictured together at the Cambridge Country Polo Club in July 2015. In 2018, Eddie explained on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen that despite him brushing shoulders with royalty when he was younger he was not invited to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's wedding, joking "No, I wasn't. It's fine!"

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Princess Diana and Elton John

Name a more iconic duo! The pair met in 1981 after the successful singer performed at Prince Andrew's 21st birthday party. Following the devastating news of Princess Diana's death, Elton performed Candle in the Wind at her funeral in 1997. Just weeks before Diana's death, the Princess had comforted Elton at close friend Gianni Versace's funeral. The relationship with royalty has continued, with Elton remaining friends with Diana's sons and performing at Harry and Meghan's wedding last year.

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Prince Harry, Prince William and the Beckhams

The former footballer and wife Victoria attended both the weddings of William and Harry. The Spice Girls star and her husband David have been close friends of the brothers for many years, with the couple flying out to Australia for the Invictus Games in 2018, after David was made an ambassador for the annual event.

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Meghan Markle and Serena Willams

Meghan counts Serena as one of her 'closest friends', with Serena even organising Meghan's New York baby shower back in February. The couple met at the Super Bowl in Miami in 2010 and have remained close friends since then.

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Prince Harry and Rihanna

The pair met during the 50th anniversary of the independence of Barbados in 2016, they attended a concert together and underwent HIV tests live on camera to promote world AIDS day. Rihanna joked about not being invited to the wedding in 2018, laughing that she wasn’t expecting an invite.

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Prince Harry and Cara Delevingne

Cara and Prince Harry have been friends for a while, she introduced the royals to Margot Robbie and Suki Waterhouse - and there is a picture of the group in a photobooth to prove it! However, Cara and Harry might not be so close, as she was not invited to his wedding. All royal ties are not lost though, as Cara attended the wedding of Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank.

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The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Ellie Goulding

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge asked Ellie to perform at their wedding reception in 2011, where she sung Elton John’s ‘Your Song’ for the couple’s first dance. Speaking to Vanity Fair about the experience in 2016, the singer stated: “Talk about scary. I was so nervous, my hands were shaking.”

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Prince Harry and James Blunt

Prince Harry and James served in the British Army together, with the singer attending Harry's wedding in May 2018, meaning they must still be pretty close!

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Prince Charles and Sir Rod Stewart

These two are good friends, Rod and his wife Penny Lancaster are ambassadors for Charles' foundation, the Prince's Trust, and in 2008 he performed at Charles' 60th birthday party.

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Prince Harry and Chris Martin

Coldplay headlined a major fundraising concert for Prince Harry's AIDS charity Sentebale and Harry even joined the band on stage, embracing Chris with a hug.

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