King Charles presented a new round of royal honors at Windsor Castle on Wednesday, July 16, including one to a celebrated noughties pop star.
Leona Lewis, who rose to stardom after winning the third season of The X Factor in 2006, was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) by the monarch, 76, for her contributions to music and charity work.
Lewis went platinum in the U.S. and triple platinum in the U.K. with her 2007 single “Bleeding Love,” which remains the biggest hit of her career.
Interestingly, the breakup track was released around the same time Kate Middleton and Prince William briefly split — and its lyrics about being pulled apart by outside pressures before ultimately finding your way back to each other could have resonated deeply. It’s easy to imagine the song on repeat during that chapter of their relationship.
The college sweethearts briefly broke up in April 2007 after about five years of dating. At the time, the split was described as amicable, with reports suggesting the couple had grown apart and were feeling the strain of intense media scrutiny. They reunited just two months later, in June 2007.
King Charles and Leona Lewis at Windsor Castle on July 16, 2025.
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Looking back, William said they simply needed “a bit of space” as they were both still “finding their own way” during their university years. “We were growing up,” he explained. While Kate admitted she “wasn’t very happy” about the breakup, she later reflected in their 2010 engagement interview that the experience ultimately made her stronger.
This isn’t the first time the royal family has shown their appreciation for the 40-year-old singer. Lewis was part of the star-studded lineup at Kate’s annual Westminster Abbey Christmas concert, Royal Carols: Together At Christmas, in December 2021.
Following the performance, the singer admitted that the encounter had left her a bit starstruck.
“I got to meet them, [but] no one came by and told us what we had to do,” she recalled in an interview on The Jonathan Ross Show the following week.
Leona Lewis after being made an OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) for services to music and to charity during an Investiture ceremony at Windsor Castle on July 16, 2025.
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“So I basically just stood there like a statue, staring at them,” Lewis continued. “Everyone kind of took my lead and stood there like statues. I think I bowed, curtseyed, I did everything… then assumed a statue position.”
Despite the awkward encounter, Lewis said the Prince and Princess of Wales were “really lovely.”
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Lewis was joined at Wednesday’s honors by singer and reality star Myleene Klass, who was made an MBE for her work with women’s health charities and miscarriage awareness.
Additionally, former Labour politician Dame Patricia Hewitt was appointed a Dame Commander of the British Empire (DCB), and former Conservative schools minister Sir Nick Gibb received a knighthood.