• Phil Collins, 75, made a rare public appearance at Buckingham Palace for The King’s Trust 50th anniversary event on May 11.
• His ex-wife Jill Collins shared photos on Instagram showing Phil using forearm crutches alongside Rod Stewart and Penny Lancaster.
• Collins has been largely out of the public eye since retiring from music in 2022 due to severe nerve damage and other health issues.
• He recently revealed he has a 24-hour live-in nurse and has undergone five knee surgeries, plus kidney complications after a COVID-19 battle in hospital.
• Phil was The King’s Trust’s very first ambassador and a trustee even before that — making this appearance especially meaningful.

Phil Collins stepped back into the spotlight this month, making one of his most significant public appearances in years when he attended The King’s Trust 50th anniversary celebration at Buckingham Palace. And for fans who’ve been quietly worrying about the Genesis legend, the photos were a welcome sight.

Collins’ ex-wife Jill Collins posted the moment on Instagram on May 15, sharing a photo from the Royal Tea Tent that showed Phil — dressed in a sharp black suit and red tie, leaning on forearm crutches — standing alongside Rod Stewart and his wife Penny Lancaster. Jill called it a “truly memorable afternoon.”

“Despite the downpours of torrential rain, which did not seem to dampen the festivities, @officialphilcollins and I were very proud and honored to be there and have a few private moments with King Charles, who seemed genuinely pleased to see Phil,” she wrote. She also noted that Phil “was the very first ambassador 40 years ago and a trustee even before that” — a connection to the charity that stretches back decades.

The comments on her post lit up almost immediately. “Fantastic to see Phil looking so good,” one fan wrote. “This post has made my day,” said another. “It’s especially good to see Phil out and about.” Someone else simply wrote: “Ohhhh, Phillllll 😍👏.”

The couple — who were married from 1984 to 1996 and share a daughter, actress Lily Collins — also announced they’ll host an auction from their personal archives this fall in London to benefit the King’s charity.

A Health Battle Years in the Making

Collins has been largely absent from public life since retiring from music in March 2022, and the reasons are serious. The cascade of health problems started years earlier — his son Nicholas has spoken about a major neck surgery in 2015, stemming from decades of drumming and bad posture. Then came a 2007 spinal injury that damaged vertebrae in his upper neck and caused nerve damage so severe it left him unable to hold drumsticks. He also developed drop foot, a condition that makes lifting the front of the foot nearly impossible.

“I can barely hold a stick with this hand,” Collins told BBC Breakfast back in September 2021, about six months before he officially stepped away. “I don’t know if I want to go out on the road anymore.”

In his documentary Phil Collins: Drummer First, which premiered in December 2024, he reflected on what that loss has meant. “I’ve spent all my life playing drums,” he said. “To suddenly not be able to do that is a shock. If I wake up one day and I can hold a pair of drumsticks then I’ll have a crack at it. But I just feel like I’ve used up my air miles.”

By early 2025, he told Mojo magazine the situation had only gotten harder. “I keep thinking I should go downstairs to the studio and see what happens. But I’m not hungry for it anymore. The thing is, I’ve been sick — I mean very sick.”

Then in January, in a candid conversation with Zoe Ball for BBC’s Eras podcast, Collins laid out just how much his body has been through. Five knee surgeries. Kidney complications after years of heavy drinking caught up with him. A COVID-19 diagnosis — contracted while he was already in hospital — that sent his kidneys into further distress. “I had everything that could go wrong with me, did go wrong with me,” he said. “I got COVID in hospital, my kidneys started to back up. Everything seemed to sort of converge at the same time.”

He now has a 24-hour live-in nurse to manage his medication. “I can walk, albeit with assistance — crutches or whatever,” he told the BBC, per Variety. And despite all of it, he added: “It’s just been a difficult, interesting, frustrating last few years. But it’s all right now.”

Seeing him at Buckingham Palace — dressed up, surrounded by friends, getting a private moment with King Charles — feels like exactly the kind of “all right” worth holding onto.

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• Amal Clooney wore an archival Alexander McQueen gold sequined gown from the fall 2007 collection to the King’s Trust 50th Anniversary Celebration
• She and husband George Clooney were among the first arrivals on the red carpet at Royal Albert Hall in London on May 11
• The McQueen collection was titled “In Memory of Elizabeth Howe” and included references to the Salem witch trials
• King Charles founded The King’s Trust in 1976 — it has since helped over 1.3 million young people across the UK and beyond
• The star-studded event also drew Idris Elba, Lily Collins, Rita Ora, Rod Stewart, and Ronnie Wood

Amal Clooney didn’t just show up to the King’s Trust 50th Anniversary Celebration — she made a full fashion statement, and it was nearly two decades in the making.

The 48-year-old human rights lawyer arrived at Royal Albert Hall in London on Monday alongside husband George Clooney in a breathtaking gold sequined gown from Alexander McQueen’s fall 2007 ready-to-wear collection. The archival piece — which first hit the runway during Paris Fashion Week in March 2007 — featured a V-neckline, cap sleeves, and a sleek column silhouette covered in intricate gold embellishment with an Art Deco-style arrangement of sinuous lines and sharp angles. The hem nearly grazed the carpet, saved only by her coordinating pointed metallic gold pumps. She finished the look with a gold clutch, delicate earrings, and a bracelet, her hair styled in loose side-parted waves.

It was a masterclass in archival dressing — and the historical layers go deeper than most people might expect.

The McQueen Collection Has a Story of Its Own

The collection Amal pulled from is titled “In Memory of Elizabeth Howe, Salem, 1692” — a reference to the late Lee Alexander McQueen’s own familial ties to the Salem witch trials. The show was filled with visual motifs connected to that dark chapter of history, but the gold gown Amal wore carried its own cinematic energy. According to WWD, the gilded design evoked Elizabeth Taylor’s iconic 1963 film Cleopatra, from the ornate embellishment to the statuesque silhouette. Whether that was intentional or just a happy coincidence, the effect was undeniable.

McQueen passed away in 2010. His successor, Sarah Burton, helmed the house as creative director until 2023 before moving on to take the same role at Givenchy in 2024.

George, 65, kept things classic beside her — navy suit, white dress shirt, dark tie, and sunglasses — looking every bit the movie star he is. The couple arrived hand in hand, and were spotted sweetly holding hands as they walked up the stairs into the hall. One of the first couples on the red carpet, they set the tone for the entire evening.

The outing comes just weeks after the pair were photographed in St. Tropez, France, celebrating George’s 65th birthday.

A Night Worth Celebrating

The event itself was no small affair. Hosted by King Charles and Queen Camilla, the King’s Trust 50th Anniversary Celebration was held in partnership with TK Maxx and hosted by British presenting duo Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly. Performances came from Sir Rod Stewart, Jools Holland, and Rita Ora, whose gown swept the red carpet as she posed for photos early in the evening.

The guest list was stacked. Idris Elba, Lily Collins and her husband director Charlie McDowell, David Oyelowo and wife Jessica, Emily in Paris actor Lucien Laviscount, former British Vogue Editor-in-Chief Edward Enninful, and makeup mogul Charlotte Tilbury were all in attendance. Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood, 78, posed for couple photos with his wife Sally in matching sunglasses. The Traitors season four winners Stephen Libby and Rachel Duffy had a reunion on the carpet, too.

Lily Collins, 37, glittered in a strapless gown with minimal jewelry and her bob straight and sleek — effortlessly chic, very much in her element.

The King’s Trust — formerly known as The Prince’s Trust — was founded by Charles in 1976 when he was still the Prince of Wales, created as a lifeline for disadvantaged young people in the UK. Fifty years on, the organization now operates in 25 countries, supports young people between the ages of 11 and 30 with life skills, career training, and entrepreneurship programs, and has helped more than 1.3 million people — contributing at least £11.4 billion to society through its work. It has also recently expanded to the United States, with programs running in New York, Chicago, Orlando, San Jose, and Detroit.

King Charles spoke about the milestone in a video message filmed at Clarence House earlier this year. “When I began what is now The King’s Trust in 1976, I could not possibly have imagined the impact that it would have,” he said. “I am so very pleased and proud that The Trust’s work continues to go from strength to strength, having in that time helped over 1.3 million young people grow their confidence, continue in education, secure sustainable jobs and over 92,000 young people in the UK alone, having been supported to start a business, thus enabling them all to build brighter futures.”

The Clooneys had also attended The King’s Trust 5th Annual Gala in New York City last month, when Charles and Camilla visited the United States. Clearly, this is a cause close to their hearts — and Monday night, Amal made sure the cause got a red carpet moment to match.

The post Amal Clooney Stuns in Archival McQueen Gold at King’s Trust Gala appeared first on Cream.

• Rod Stewart told King Charles “you put that little rat bag in his place” at a London gala Monday night
• The comment came at The King’s Trust 50th Anniversary Celebration at Royal Albert Hall
• Stewart, 81, was referencing Charles’ recent four-day state visit to the US, including a historic address to Congress
• Charles appeared to laugh off the remark as Ronnie Wood grinned alongside them
• Stewart and Trump were once friendly neighbors in Florida before their falling out last year

Rod Stewart has never been one to hold back — and Monday night at Royal Albert Hall was no exception. At The King’s Trust 50th Anniversary Celebration in London, the rock legend pulled King Charles aside on the receiving line and offered some very enthusiastic, very on-brand congratulations for his recent US state visit.

“May I say, well done in the Americas,” Stewart, 81, told the monarch. “You were superb. Absolutely superb. You put that little rat bag in his place.”

The remark — widely understood as a reference to President Donald Trump — was caught on video and shared by the Daily Mail’s Rebecca English. Charles, who by royal tradition is expected to remain politically neutral, didn’t visibly respond to the dig itself, but those nearby appeared to laugh. Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood was standing right there, grinning.

Stewart apparently kept going, adding: “Exactly, that’s it — it went right over his head, right over his head.” He then turned to Queen Camilla and said: “I was just congratulating your husband on his wonderful performance in the Americas, so great, so brave, so proud.”

https://x.com/RE_DailyMail/status/2053919996594864302?s=20

What Charles Actually Did in America

The praise, however colorfully delivered, wasn’t without basis. Charles and Camilla’s four-day US trip was widely regarded as a diplomatic high-wire act — and by most accounts, the King stuck the landing.

He made history with an address to a joint session of Congress, following in the footsteps of his late mother Queen Elizabeth, who did the same in 1991. He leaned into the humor of the moment — “King George never set foot in America and, please rest assured, I am not here as part of some cunning rearguard action!” — but also delivered some pointed substance, calling on America to continue defending Ukraine and stressing the importance of NATO, positions that have been notably at odds with the current White House.

“The challenges we face are too great for any one nation to bear alone,” Charles told Congress. “But in this unpredictable environment, our alliance cannot rest on past achievements, or assume that foundational principles simply endure.”

He described the present moment as “more volatile and more dangerous” than when his mother visited — and his visit came just days after the White House Correspondents’ Dinner shooting, which he acknowledged from the podium.

At the state dinner hosted by the Trumps, Charles got off another memorable line: “If it wasn’t for us, you’d be speaking French!” Trump, for his part, told reporters afterward that the King “made a great speech” and that he was “very jealous.”

Washington-based royal biographer Sally Bedell Smith told People: “Politicians of every stripe saw King Charles in a new and more favorable light.”

Rod and Trump: It’s Complicated

Stewart’s swipe at Trump landed with a little extra context for anyone who knows their backstory. The two were once friendly — neighbors in Florida, even — but that relationship cooled significantly. In an interview with Radio Times last year, Stewart said he no longer considered Trump a friend, pointing to the administration’s arms sales to Israel amid the Gaza conflict.

“How’s that war ever gonna stop?” Stewart said at the time. He went further: “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.”

Monday night’s red carpet moment was just the latest proof that the old friendship is firmly in the rearview.

A Big Night for The King’s Trust

The gala itself was a celebration of 50 years of the King’s Trust, the youth charity Charles founded in 1976 that has helped more than 1.3 million young people across the UK. The evening at Royal Albert Hall featured performances from Rita Ora, Anne-Marie, Craig David, Skye Newman, and Jools Holland, with hosts Ant and Dec welcoming the royals on the red carpet. Benedict Cumberbatch, Idris Elba, George Clooney, and Amal Clooney were also among the guests.

The night had genuinely moving moments too — award winner Sahara gave an emotional speech thanking the trust for helping her after she had attempted to take her own life.

Charles closed out the evening with a joke at Ant and Dec’s expense: “I’ve always wondered whether someone would put Ant and Dec back in their box” — as the duo vacated the royal box and the King and Queen took the stage in their place.

Stewart’s rat bag comment will almost certainly be the clip that travels furthest. But then again, that’s usually how it goes when Rod Stewart gets a microphone — or a receiving line.

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