King Charles was treated to a rare performance by the very same group that sang at Meghan Markle and Prince Harry‘s 2018 royal wedding.
While visiting London’s first SXSW festival on Thursday, June 5, the monarch was serenaded by The Kingdom Choir, Metro reported. The group performed from the West End of St. George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle when Harry and Meghan tied the knot seven years ago.
The King was also greeted by The Kingdom Choir singer Karen Gibson, and the two were seen shaking hands at the festival while huddled under umbrellas.
The moment comes amid fresh reports of family tensions. Harry and Meghan reportedly considered changing their children’s surname to Spencer after a delay in receiving their children’s passports. According to The Guardian, Harry consulted his uncle Charles Spencer amid claims officials “dragged their feet” because the applications included HRH titles for Prince Archie, 6, and Princess Lilibet, 4 — titles a source said King Charles opposed. PEOPLE confirms the conversation took place but denies reports that Spencer advised against the change. Buckingham Palace has strongly denied any role in the delay.
Despite Harry’s public call for reconciliation, the monarch has yet to make a personal move toward reconciliation. Trust remains the biggest barrier to a reunion; insiders say neither King Charles nor Prince William are ready to bridge the divide.
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“The underlying issue is trust,” royal biographer Sally Bedell Smith tells PEOPLE in this week’s issue. “The King and William don’t trust Harry and Meghan with any kind of confidential conversation.”
Gibson and The Kingdom Choir are scheduled to perform at SXSW in Shoreditch Church the evening of June 5, according to the official SXSW festival website, which notes that the group has previously sung with legends like Barbra Streisand and performed at The Coronation Prom at the Royal Albert Hall.
When the group performed at the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s wedding, they sung a gospel performance of “Stand by Me.” The group’s performance came before the Archbishop of Canterbury led Harry and Meghan’s vows, and followed an address from Bishop Michael Bruce Curry.
After Harry and Meghan said their vows and walked out of the church together, Gibson and her choir performed “This Little Light of Mine.” The couple reflected on the moment during a December 2020 holiday special episode of their Archewell Audio podcast.
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While signing off the episode with “This Little Light of Mine,” Harry told listeners the song “means so much to us,” adding, “Not a toast per se, but a song – which is about shining a light.”
Meghan continued, ” ‘This Little Light of Mine” played at the very end of our wedding while we were walking down the steps of the church. It was the music that we wanted playing when we started our lives together. Because as we all know, ‘darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that…’ ”
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Harry said the song’s message is one he and Meghan “hold so dearly,” explaining, “It’s about using the power we each have within us to make this world a better place.”
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Less than a year after The Kingdom Choir performed at their wedding, Harry and Meghan saw the group again during a visit to Australia. The group performed at the closing ceremony for Harry’s Paralympic-style Invictus Games in Sydney in October 2018.
“We love what the Games stand for and are privileged to be able to honor the men and women competing,” Gibson said in a statement at the time.
