Idris Elba receives knighthood from King Charles at Windsor Castle for services to young people

Decades after receiving support from The King’s Trust as a teenager, the actor and activist received one of Britain’s highest honors.

Idris Elba is officially Sir Idris Elba.

Elba received the honor during an investiture ceremony at Windsor Castle on June 2, recognizing the actor, activist, and musician for his services to young people. As theGrio has previously reported, Elba has a longstanding relationship with King Charles and The King’s Trust charity. The honor marks the highest formal recognition of a partnership that began when Elba received a grant from the organization as an 18-year-old and reflects his decades-long ties to the royal family.

People published photos from the ceremony showing the monarch tapping a sword on Elba’s shoulders as he knelt. The royal family also shared images from the moment on its official Instagram account.

“We are thankful. The work continues,” Elba, 53, wrote on Instagram Stories, sharing a photo of himself holding hands with his wife Sabrina at the castle grounds. He tagged the Elba Hope Foundation, the charity he and Sabrina co-founded in 2022 to support diaspora communities.

The honor was first announced as part of King Charles’ 2026 New Year’s Honours list. Speaking to People in January at the “Hijack” season 2 screening, he said the recognition had not fully sunk in yet.

“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. So it feels like an honor. My family is honored by it. I don’t even know how to talk about it.”

Elba is a Goodwill Ambassador for The King’s Trust, which has helped over one million young people since King Charles founded it in 1976. Just weeks before the ceremony, the two reunited at a Buckingham Palace garden party celebrating the charity’s 50th anniversary, where they deejayed together.

“King Charles came over, and he wanted to do a back-to-back, so he got on,” Elba said.

Elba previously held down DJ honors at the reception for Prince Harry’s royal wedding.