Streisand’s coronation greetings to her friend, the King
From their first meeting in 1974, the monarch and the singer have had a bond that she shared on his big day
Brigit Grant is the Jewish News Supplements Editor
During its pre-Coronation coverage on the morning of May 6, the BBC featured interviews with numerous famous people – Sir Tim Peake, Dame Harriet Walter and US politician John Kerry among them – all of whom spent time with the King because of their occupations or mutual interests.
Few expected Barbra Streisand to pop up in that prestigious mix, but the celebrated Jewish singer was keen to express her congratulations from Los Angeles, and in doing so spoke of their friendship.
Smiling to camera Streisand explained that she had struck up a bond with the then heir to the throne back in the 1970s, when he visited her on set in Los Angeles.
Charles was just 26 and serving in the Royal Navy as a young lieutenant on the frigate HMS Jupiter, when a stop in the United States navy’s base in San Diego lead to him visiting Streisand who was filming Funny Lady, the sequel to Funny Girl.
That meeting was in Streisand’s mind when she spoke to the BBC, but it seems to have stayed with the King, who mentioned it in 2021 when he appeared on the radio programme Music and Memories as part of the UK’s national Thank You Day to honour the NHS for their work during the pandemic.
In the interview, Charles reminisced fondly about that first encounter with the singer, adding that : “I have always been a great admirer of the incredibly versatile American actress and singer Barbra Streisand. I was lucky enough to visit her on set and I shall never forget her dazzling, effervescent talent and the unique vitality and attraction of her voice and her acting ability.”
He then chose ‘Don’t Rain on my Parade,’ as his next song, explaining that it was “full of special memories of—I hardly dare think of it now—47 years ago.”
On the morning of the coronation, Streisand’endorsed her friendship with the King who won her over when they first met by asking what tea she was drinking to improve her vocals.
“I asked if he wanted to try it and he took a sip. I was impressed that he did not mind sharing” said the star who subsequently spent time at Highgrove House in Tetbury for a fundraiser and loved walking through his gardens. With their shared passion for the environment, it was inevitable the Hollywood legend and the future King would get along, but what the singer did not know was that the prince had a framed photograph of Streisand hung in his rooms when he was at Cambridge.
American author Christopher Andersen highlighted this in his 2022 biography ‘The King: The Life of Charles III, adding that the same photo went up on the wall of his bedroom at Buckingham Palace after graduation. Unlikely as it is that the photo will still be there when the King and Queen Camilla move back in, well a fan can dream .
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