British singer James Blunt has accused Ed Sheeran of injuring himself with a sword, in an incident initially blamed on Britain’s Princess Beatrice.
Sheeran, 26, hit the headlines in November last year (16) after it was reported that the royal had cut his face with a ceremonial sword while staging a mock knighting of James during a party held at her father’s home.
But James, 43, has taken issue with that version of events, saying that partygoers made up the bizarre story and to cover the fact that a drunken Ed cut himself.
“Ed was drunk, messing around, and he cut himself.” he told Shortlist magazine. “We made a fancy story up; people fell for it. It was very embarrassing.”
Ed was initially reluctant to speak about his injury even though he now sports a visible scar, avoiding it in interviews while promoting his new album ÷ (divide).
He did however confirm some details of the incident in a chat on Absolute Radio, saying, “I got hit in the face and I was like, ‘All right, OK…’ and then started carrying on and then I looked down at my shirt and it was just completely covered in blood, and everyone was kind of gaping, open-mouthed at me.”
Despite the tunesmith’s reluctance to discuss what really happened, James jokingly blamed Ed for spreading the elaborate yarn in a bid to ramp up sales of his album.
“It’s bizarre that people fell for it,” he tells Shortlist. “I blame him. He must be desperate – he’s trying to sell records.”
His new remarks are not the first time James has questioned the veracity of the story, as he previously joked that a royal would never make an error while giving out a knighthood.
Blunt is reportedly set to join Ed when he begins touring again later this year (17).
