King Charles and Rod Stewart Share Playful Moment With Pruning Shears

King Charles III and Rod Stewart shared a playful moment involving a pair of pruning shears.

The king, 76, and the rocker, 80, appeared together at an event for the 35th anniversary of Charles’ charity, The King’s Foundation, in Scotland on Wednesday, January 15. 

At Dumfries House, where the foundation is headquartered, Charles presided over a time capsule ceremony — placing meaningful items into a wooden box — as Stewart, and his wife, Penny Lancaster, looked on. When the king picked up a pair of shears, he jokingly pointed them in Stewart’s direction as the “Maggie May” singer pretended to flinch. Charles let out a hearty laugh while Stewart grinned.

The King’s Foundation, which was launched in 1990, will mark its milestone anniversary throughout the year by collecting items for the capsule that “represent the achievements and legacy” of the foundation, according to a press release published on the royal family’s website. 

“The items will focus particularly on what inspired people to devote their time to protecting the built and natural world,” the release stated. “Once collated, the time capsule will be buried on the Dumfries House estate and opened a hundred years from now.”

Charles, for his part, seemed in good spirits amid his health struggles. The monarch announced in February 2024 that he’d been diagnosed with an undisclosed form of cancer following a procedure to correct an enlarged prostate. During his annual Christmas address last month, he referenced his diagnosis.

“I am speaking to you today from the Chapel of the former Middlesex Hospital in London — now itself a vibrant community space — and thinking especially of the many thousands of professionals and volunteers here in the United Kingdom and across the Commonwealth who, with their skills and out of the goodness of their heart, care for others, often at some cost to themselves,” he said.

“From a personal point of view, I offer special, heartfelt thanks to the selfless doctors and nurses who, this year, have supported me and other members of my family through the uncertainties and anxieties of illness, and have helped provide the strength, care and comfort we have needed,” he continued. “I am deeply grateful, too, to all those who have offered us their own kind words of sympathy and encouragement.”

Charles’ daughter-in-law Kate Middleton revealed her own cancer diagnosis in March 2024 and said that she was undergoing chemotherapy. Both continued their treatments as they resumed their royal duties; Kate finished her treatment in September and announced on Tuesday, January 14, that she is in remission. 

In an Instagram post shared at the time, Middleton, 43, thanked The Royal Marsden, a London hospital specializing in cancer treatment.

“My heartfelt thanks goes to all those who have quietly walked alongside [Prince] William and me as we have navigated everything,” the princess said. “We couldn’t have asked for more. The care and advice we have received throughout my time as a patient has been exceptional.”

“In my new role as Joint Patron of The Royal Marsden, my hope is, that by supporting groundbreaking research and clinical excellence, as well as promoting patient and family wellbeing, we might save many more lives, and transform the experience of all those impacted by cancer.”