
Singer Ed Sheeran was rushed to hospital after Princess Beatrice reportedly sliced his face with a sword when attempting to ‘knight’ fellow musician James Blunt as a prank at a party.
The Thinking Out Loud hitmaker, 25, suffered a cut to his right cheek when the princess, 28, swung the blade without noticing he was standing behind her.
Guests at the bash at the Royal Lodge in Windsor, Berkshire – Prince Andrew’s home – were stunned when Beatrice accidentally struck Sheeran with the sword, reports The Sun on Sunday.
During the do, Blunt, 42, quipped that he wanted to be knighted and she decided to pick up the blade.
But it has been reported she was unaware that the singer-songwriter – who was at the function with his girlfriend Cherry Seaborn – was standing directly behind her.
He was then taken to Epsom Hospital in Surrey to receive treatment for the injury just underneath his right eye before returning to the party.
A source told Michael Hamilton and Ben Lazarus at the newspaper: ‘As the night wore on they started talking about honours and apparently James Blunt joked that he would love a knighthood.
‘Beatrice jokingly said she could arrange it and fetched a ceremonial sword. Beatrice held the sword above him and said “arise Sir James”, just like her nan would at the Palace.
‘But she must have misjudged the weight or something and, instead of lightly tapping him on the shoulder, she swung it back, not knowing Ed was standing right behind her.’
The source added that Ed could have been blinded but he played down the incident so as not to upset shocked Beatrice any further.
Sheeran, who has released two chart-topping albums, was invited by Beatrice to be her guest at the dinner.
He received stitches for the injury and Beatrice was ‘very upset’ and was inconsolable but relieved when he returned to the party, reports the newspaper.
The I See fire hitmaker braved his injury for a gig the next day at London’s O2 Shepherds Bush Empire.
He made no attempt to hide his scar as he put on a brave face to pose for photos with fans who were sent in a frenzy when he uploaded the snaps to social media.
One speculated on Twitter: ‘He got drunk drinking whisky, fell, and had to go to A&E to get stitches.’
Buckingham Palace and a spokesman for Sheeran declined to comment.