Sheeran’s manager has slammed the Princess reaction to the incident. (Image: Getty)
You don’t expect a royal dinner party to end in blood — or a global pop star being rushed to hospital for stitches after a princess picks up a sword. But that is exactly what happened to Ed Sheeran in 2016, in an incident that has long sounded too bizarre to be true. For years, those closest to him kept quiet. Now, his manager Stuart Camp has confirmed the story is real — and suggested the aftermath, and the royal reaction, was just as shocking as the accident itself.
The evening was supposed to be a relaxed gathering at Royal Lodge, attended by around 20 guests, including Sarah Ferguson, James Blunt and his wife, Sofia Wellesley. At some point, Blunt joked that he would like to be knighted. Princess Beatrice decided to play along. She took a ceremonial sword from the wall to perform a mock knighting — but misjudged the weight and space behind her. As she swung the blade backwards, she didn’t realise Sheeran was standing directly behind.
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Camp has confirmed the story is real (Image: Getty)
The sword slashed across his face, missing his right eye by inches. He was immediately taken to the hospital for stitches before later returning to the party.
Sheeran later admitted the wound was severe, telling Rolling Stone: “It was really deep… I had to have seven or eight stitches.” He also reflected on how narrowly disaster was avoided, adding: “Imagine if it had hit my eye! It’s not that far off, right?”
Reports at the time suggested Beatrice was distraught, but Camp has now revealed why the shocking aftermath of the incident occurred in a personal sit-down.
Speaking on the Straight Up podcast, he explained that he deliberately shielded Sheeran from the fallout and refused to spin the lie that Princess Beatrice was not responsible for the injury.
“I got quite protective over that. Because we’ve never publicly commented on it, but certain people said, ‘Oh, you should lie and say it wasn’t her and say it was someone else.’
“I said, ‘Well, we’re not telling anyone anything. I’m not lying, just because someone’s a f*****g idiot.’
“Because they’re thinking, yeah, I will get paralytic and take a sword off the wall. You’re just asking for trouble.”
But it is what he said next that has caused the most raised eyebrows. “You know, we’ve not heard hide nor hair from her since,” he claimed, revealing that after the immediate chaos of the night, there was no ongoing contact from Beatrice — no public acknowledgement and, according to Camp, no private follow-up either.
Years on, the physical wound has long healed – but the silence surrounding it still speaks volumes.
For an accident that came within inches of blinding one of Britain’s biggest global stars, the absence of any clear personal apology, acknowledgement, and alleged rumours to parlay the blame onto someone else, the lack of even a quiet attempt to make amends feels striking.
Express.co.uk has contacted the Palace for comment.