King Charles III to join Elton John on Rocket Hour for 78th birthday episode

Broadcast schedule

The King will mark his 78th birthday on Saturday, 14 November, with an hour-long special of Elton John's Rocket Hour, the weekly radio show the singer has carried on Apple Music 1 since 2015. The episode premieres at 9am that day on Apple Music 1, according to The Independent. ANSA notes that Saturday is the King's actual birthday, which differs from the official one celebrated each June with the Trooping the Colour parade. Buckingham Palace announced the special on Thursday, 12 November. It is the King's second project with Apple Music, after The King's Music Room, in which he presented 17 of his favourite songs, a playlist that included Beyoncé, Kylie Minogue and Bob Marley.

Recording in secret

The conversation was taped in secret in October at the Apple Music studios inside the former Battersea Power Station in south London. The two talk about the role of music and about the performers who have backed The King's Trust, which Charles set up in 1976 as the Prince's Trust. The charity was renamed after he became king, and it says it has helped more than a million young people. El País describes its target group as people aged 11 to 30 who face unemployment or barriers in education. Asked to choose a selection of songs, the King described the invitation as 'an opportunity too good to resist'. He said it was wonderful to see the difference the trust's programmes make, adding:

“Well really, what I was trying to do was invest in the future, but particularly investing in talent.”

Jokes and tributes

Elton John joked that he would end up on the BBC's Antiques Roadshow, the programme where experts value objects brought in by the public. The King laughed and replied 'Join the club', and he called the singer 'such a national treasure after all these years'. Charles also thanked him for adding 'a little Rocket Power to the proceedings'. Elton John admitted afterwards that he had learnt a lot from the King, adding:

“I learnt a lot from speaking to His Majesty.”

Elton John has long supported the trust, and this year he donated a pair of his pink-tinted glasses to a celebratory auction marking its 50th anniversary.

Artists and history

The playlist includes Muse's version of 'Feeling Good', Raye's 'Joy' and Skye Newman's 'Hairdresser'. The Independent reports that Muse received a grant from the then Prince's Trust to buy PA equipment when they were starting out as Rocket Baby Dolls. PÚBLICO adds that the band later played a sold-out Royal Albert Hall concert for the charity in 2018. The pair also look back over five decades of charity concerts, from rock galas at Wembley Arena in the 1980s to pop shows in Hyde Park and charity shows at the Royal Albert Hall. Elton John told the King:

“That's the greatest thing you can do. Young people are our future, and you're doing a wonderful job.”