Believe it or not: The party doesn't start till the King presses play
Times of India | 21 May 2026
King Charles casually hopped onto the DJ decks at Buckingham Palace, with DJ-actor Sir Idris Elba right beside him. At a garden party celebrating 50 years of The King’s Trust, the monarch surprised guests by “pressing play” on a live DJ set. Thousands watched, umbrellas up in the rain. Royal protocol, but make it party mode.
King Charles just dropped the beat
The moment unfolded when Charles joined Elba and a young DJ, Christian St Louis – who trained through the Trust – at the console. The King had apparently been talking about DJing earlier, then actually followed through. “He did press play – and as any DJ will tell you, that’s the hardest part,” Elba quipped. As for whether the King was into the fast, electronic set? “Well,” Elba added with a laugh, “he didn’t exactly stick around.”
A knack for DJing
This wasn’t a one-off. Back in March, King Charles had already tested his DJ skills during a visit to Manchester’s Aviva Studios. His partner? The same 22-year-old trainee Christian St Louis, he tried mixing tracks himself – admitting he was still “getting the hang of it” as onlookers teased the complexity.