“We are thankful. The work continues,” the newly knighted star said following the ceremony
Idris Elba officially became Sir Idris Elba on Tuesday, June 2, as King Charles III knighted the actor, activist and musician in an investiture ceremony at Windsor Castle. The honor, recognizing his services to young people, was first announced in the King’s 2026 New Year Honours list and made official at the ceremony, where Charles tapped a sword on Elba’s shoulders as he knelt before the monarch.
Elba, 53, was joined by his wife Sabrina at the castle, and shared a simple but pointed message afterward: “We are thankful. The work continues.” The post, shared over a photo of the couple holding hands on the castle grounds, tagged the Elba Hope Foundation, the charity the pair co-founded in 2022 focused on youth advocacy, education, community empowerment and sustainable development. According to the foundation, the couple have helped raise over $1.75 billion to fight rural poverty, $2 million for a COVID-19 Rural Poor Stimulus Fund and $6 million in debt relief for Somalia.
The knighthood carries particular weight given Elba’s own history with the royal family’s charitable work. When he was 18, he received a grant from what was then known as The Prince’s Trust, now The King’s Trust, which he used to attend the National Youth Music Theatre. He has credited that opportunity with helping launch his career in the arts. Decades later, he serves as a Goodwill Ambassador for the same organization.
The connection between Elba and King Charles took an unexpectedly playful turn just weeks before the investiture, when the two found themselves behind the DJ booth together at a Buckingham Palace garden party on May 14, celebrating the 50th anniversary of The King’s Trust. A DJ who had trained through one of Elba’s own courses was performing at the event when the King joined in.
“King Charles came over, and he wanted to do a back-to-back, so he got on,” Elba recalled at the Los Angeles premiere of his upcoming film Masters of the Universe. After joking that the experience was “alright,” he quickly corrected himself. “It was amazing.”
A documentary marking 50 years since King Charles founded the charity, made in collaboration with Elba, is set to air on Netflix this autumn.
Speaking at the Hijack season two premiere in January, Elba reflected on what the knighthood meant to him before the ceremony had even taken place. “I haven’t really spoken about it, but I will say that it’s a real honor to be recognized for the work,” he said. “Especially trying to make as much noise for young people and the things that some of them are going through. My family is honored by it. I don’t even know how to talk about it.”
Elba was not the only figure honored at Tuesday’s investiture. Olympic ice skating legends Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean formally received their damehood and knighthood respectively, actress and comedian Meera Syal was made a Dame for her services to literature, drama and charity, and Paul Elliott, best known as one half of the Chuckle Brothers, received an MBE for charitable service.