Nothing says“awkward royal moment”quite like a legendary rocker casually dropping an insult about the sitting U.S. President during a chat with King Charles III. That’s exactly what happened on May 11 when Rod Stewart, 81, apparently couldn’t resist taking a jab at Donald Trump during a backstage exchange at the 50th anniversary celebration of The King’s Trust charity at London’s Royal Albert Hall.
Stewart’s quip came as King Charles, 77, was greeting celebrities including Stewart and his Faces bandmate Ronnie Wood, 78. The moment was captured in a viral clip and shared by Rebecca English, the Daily Mail’s royal editor. According to the footage, Stewart congratulated the king on his recent U.S. state visit, saying:“May I say well done in the Americas. You were superb. Absolutely superb. You put that little rat bag in his place!”The king appeared to chuckle at the remark before moving on to Wood.
The comment marks a sharp turn in Stewart’s relationship with Trump. Before the 2016 election, the rocker considered Trump a personal friend and neighbor in Florida, even attending his Christmas parties. But things changed once Trump entered the political arena. In a June 2025 interview with the Radio Times, Stewart explained the shift, saying:“I’m not a great fan of Trump. I knew him very, very well. I used to go to his house…We’re both on the beach. I used to go to his Christmas parties. He’s always been a bit of a man’s man. I liked him for that. But he didn’t, as far as I’m concerned, treat women very well. But since he became President, he became another guy. Somebody I didn’t know.”
Stewart’s frustration extends beyond personal disappointment. He’s also critical of Trump’s foreign policy, specifically his support for Israeli arms sales.“I can’t [consider him a friend] any more. As long as he’s selling arms to the Israelis — and he still is. How’s that war ever gonna stop?”he said at the time.
The gala itself was a star-studded affair celebrating alumni, ambassadors, patrons and volunteers from the King’s Trust, which Charles founded in 1976 to support vulnerable young people across the U.K. The event featured hosts Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly and guest appearances from George and Amal Clooney, Rita Ora, and Lily Collins, among others. King Charles and Queen Camilla had just returned from their official U.S. visit, which ran from April 27 to April 30. During that trip, the king became only the second member of the British royal family to address Congress on April 28, where he spoke about climate change and the White House Correspondents’Dinner shooting.
Sometimes the best celebrity moments happen when the cameras catch something nobody planned to say out loud—and Stewart’s casual“little rat bag”remark is exactly that kind of unscripted gold. It’s a reminder that even at formal royal events, genuine opinions have a way of bubbling to the surface.
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Local Lawton
Local Lawton is a contributor to LocalBeat, covering local news and community stories.