Ed Sheeran has often been compared to Prince Harry, as the pair boast a striking resemblance and have also met up several times over the years.
(Image: SUSSEXROYAL/Instagram)
Ed Sheeran gave a swift response when he was quizzed on how close he is with Prince Harry.
The Bad Habits singer has often been likened to the Duke of Sussex in terms of appearance and has also been seen at the same events as Harry multiple times.
However, the extent of their friendship remains unclear and Ed cleverly dodged the question when he was asked about their relationship.
In 2021, Ed humorously showed up at Harry’s door in London and remarked “It’s like looking in a mirror.”
The prince and the British singer songwriter first met back in 2011 and speculation was rife that Ed may perform at Harry and Meghan Markle’s wedding when they announced their engagement back in 2017, the Mirror reports.
It was rumoured that Ed would perform at Harry and Meghan’s 2018 wedding (Image: Getty Images for W+P)
While he denied being the celebrity performer, he didn’t outright refuse the gig.
On Entertainment Tonight, he clarified: “I get asked this all the time like I know the Royal family. I’ve met Harry once. [And] that was in 2011 at his grans’ Jubilee, and it was like, ‘Hey. Hey… I barely know him! “.
Ed’s ties to the monarchy don’t end there. In 2017, he was awarded an MBE by Prince Charles on behalf of Queen Elizabeth.
Recently, it was announced that Ed is taking a hiatus from his career to kickstart a new initiative for youngsters.
At the age of 33, the musician has made it his mission to better distribute music lesson funding for children nationwide.
Speaking about this new endeavour, he stated: “I started doing that in the county I’m from, and we’ve just now changed to doing it nationwide. I’m now visiting more high schools that really need music funding and you can see what a difference it makes. I’m not an academic person in the real world I would be viewed as stupid.
“But I excelled at music and therefore people think I’m good at something. I found it massively helpful to be at a state-funded school that really encouraged that. They’ve basically cut funding for that in England so I’m doing what I can to get funding for it.”
Sheeran is taking a break from his career to help distribute music funding for kids in schools (Image: Getty Images for The Met Museum/)
Following a plea for funds six years ago by his former teacher, following anticipated funding cuts, he generously donated over £1m to Thomas Mills High in Suffolk, his old school, to promote music education for children, which was revealed back in 2022.
The Framlingham Foundation Trust, his charity, disclosed in their most recent report that fresh grants were bestowed upon Thomas Mills High School.
These were deployed to keep supplying the student body and teaching staff with superior learning tools, including “a new Expressive Arts course in Year 8 introduced this year”.
The charity’s primary provision is full scholarships for families unable to cover fees. A look at their latest annual report shows donations made in 2022 amounted to £91,000, with a total of £338,000 given since its inception.
