Inside The Spice Girls' History With British Royals
The Spice Girls are definitely pop royalty, but did you know they have met with actual royalty on more than one occasion? Yes, the five-piece group is not only pop queens but has engaged with everyone from King Charles III to Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie over the past 25 or so years. As one member of the group is literally called Posh Spice, these encounters perhaps aren't as weird as they may seem on the surface.
The history between the Spice Girls and British royalty dates back to 1997, a year after the Spice Girls released their smash hit first single "Wannabe." Ever since their extended hiatus began in 2000, there have been many rumors that the Spice Girls are reuniting, but so far nothing has come of these rumors. Nevertheless, we can still reminisce on simpler times, aka the '90s, when groups like the Spice Girls could meet royalty and take fun photographs doing peace signs.
Here are all the times members of the group met with a member of the British royal family (and why).
The history of Spice Girls with royalty is long and varied
The first meeting between the Spice Girls and the royal family was in 1997. Celebrating the 21st anniversary of the Prince's Trust charity, the singers posed with then-Prince Charles enthusiastically. Later that year, the Spice Girls were photographed with Charles once again, along with someone you probably wouldn't expect: Nelson Mandela. Having traveled to South Africa for a meeting with the two, there were no signature peace signs to be seen in this more serious photographed meeting. Also in 1997, "Spiceworld: The Movie" was released, and young Harry, Duke of Sussex and William, Prince of Wales attended the premiere along with their dad.
There weren't quite as many meetings the following year. In fact, only Ginger Spice, aka Geri Halliwell, met with Charles at the 1998 Prince's Trust Comedy Gala. Halliwell appears to have been quite taken with Charles in these earlier meetings, having told The Times that she "patted" him on his bum during the "Spiceworld" premiere.
In December 1999, the Spice Girls branched out from princes and met with Sarah Ferguson and her daughters Beatrice and Eugenie. The adorable photo (seen above) was taken backstage at a London concert — we can definitely feel the excitement levels in the room.
It has been over 20 years since the Spice Girls first met royalty
Entering the 2000s, there was more Spice Girls meeting the royal family content, though not as much. Aside from newly-married David and Victoria Beckham/Posh Spice speaking to Charles in 2000 for the Prince's Trust Capital FM Party in the Park and Emma Bunton/Baby Spice shaking hands with Charles during another Prince's Trust concert in 2001, the Spice Girls and British royal family didn't see each other as much.
However, in the 2010s, there was more Spice Girls/royal content. The Beckhams attended the weddings of both William and Kate, Prince and Princess of Wales in 2011 and Harry and Meghan, Duke and Duchess of Sussex in 2018. Another notable meeting of the 2010s was when Victoria Beckham received her OBE medal from William in 2017. The 2010s also brought about a meeting with Queen Camilla, then the Duchess of Cornwall, who mingled with Geri Halliwell/Ginger Spice during a 2019 reception at Buckingham Palace for some essay competition winners.
The most recent occurrence of the Spice Girls meeting royalty was in 2022 when Mel C/Sporty Spice and Princess Beatrice were photographed together at an Alice + Olivia store opening approximately 23 years after their first meeting. With all of the meetings that have occurred so far, there's no doubt that the Spice Girls will have more royal encounters in the future.