Ed Sheeran reveals connection between Queen Elizabeth’s Jubilee celebrations and his music career

Ed Sheeran has revealed what happened when he met the late Queen Elizabeth II after the Diamond Jubilee concert in 2012.

The singer-songwriter, 31, from Halifax shared the story behind the “delightful” snap when he was pictured shaking the late monarch’s hand backstage after performing in the Buckingham Palace concert on 4 June.

Kylie Minogue introduced the Shape of You singer to Elizabeth II, who could be seen beaming while meeting him, following one of his first performances of The A Team.

Ed told the backstory behind the picture to CBS show The Late Show with Stephen Colbert while promoting his world tour.

He said: “This is a fun picture because she was smiling when she met me. That was really, really early stages of my career. I had released, like, one hit single, and I was playing her Jubilee.

“But I was next to a really famous comedian who cracked a joke while she was shaking my hand. So I’ve got this picture of her delighted to see me.”

Ed has always been connected to the Queen’s Jubilee celebrations over his two decade-long career.

Not only did the Grammy-award winning artist perform his hit single Perfect for Her Majesty’s recent Platinum Pageant, but he was first inspired to be a musician after watching the Golden Jubilee in 2002.

He posted on Instagram back in June: “20 years ago I decided to pick up a guitar because I watched the Golden Jubilee on TV, saw Eric Clapton play Layla and said, “that’s what I want to do.

“Life is weird how it keeps coming full circle in lovely ways.”

The 31-year-old performer is currently on a world tour performing tracks from his four solo studio albums and his collaboration album which featured singers such as Bruno Mars, Stormzy, Eminem and Justin Bieber.

Ed will be on tour until September 2023 and is performing in Austin, Texas at the Circuit of the Americas on 22 October - the weekend of the Formula 1 USA Grand Prix.