From Being Honored by Prince Charles to Taking Shots with Beyoncé: 12 of Ed Sheeran's Most Unbelievably True Celebrity Stories

The singer — who turns 31 on Feb. 17 — might just have the coolest stories of all time

HE WAS HONORED BY PRINCE CHARLES AT THE PALACE

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In December 2017, the Grammy winner received an MBE, signifying he's a member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire in recognition of his services to music and charity. Prince Charles bestowed the honor on behalf of his mother, Queen Elizabeth.

That same day Sheeran continued his love affair with the royal family, telling reporters he'd happily provide the music for the first dance between soon-to-be-newlyweds Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.

HIS GAME OF THRONES CAMEO WAS A LONG TIME COMING

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Turns out Ed Sheeran's cameo during the season 7 premiere of Game of Thrones had been in the works for longer than expected — in an attempt to surprise actress Maisie Williams (pictured left), a self-proclaimed superfan. "For years, we tried to get Ed Sheeran on the show to surprise Maisie, and this year we finally did it," show creator David Benioff said during an event at SXSW.

"Throwback to the time I was a Lannister," Sheeran wrote, posting a screenshot of himself on Instagram when his episode aired. (Next up? A role on The Simpsons.)

HE SLEPT ON JAMIE FOXX'S COUCH BEFORE FINDING FAME

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"Ed Sheeran slept on my couch for six weeks before he was famous," Foxx recalled during an appearance on The Graham Norton Show. "I was doing a radio show in L.A. and he knew that we do music so he came to my radio show." The "Thinking Out Loud" crooner then asked Foxx if he would listen to some of his music. The Oscar winner did, referring to the performer as "incredible."

"I said, 'Listen, I know you don't have anywhere to go, just chill here,' " he continued. "I was giving him food and my daughter was like, 'Who do you have over here now?' "

PAUL SIMON ASKED TO MEET HIM

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It's no secret Sheeran has a star-studded group of fans — including Elton John and Eric Clapton — but the coolest guest he's had at one of his concerts? Paul Simon. Sheeran told Entertainment Weekly: "I can't remember where I was playing — Boston or Philadelphia or something — but after, my tour manager said, 'Paul Simon wants to have a drink with you.' I'm like, 'What?! Surely someone would have said, 'Can we put Paul Simon on the guest list?' But nope, he bought a ticket and came with his daughter, who is the sweetest."

HE & TAYLOR SWIFT ONCE HID FROM THE COPS

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During a joint interview on BBC Radio 1, the longtime besties spilled on that time they ended up hiding from police in a hotel bathroom after the 2015 Grammys. "We were at a party in Mark Ronson's [hotel] room and then the police shut it down," Sheeran said. "That made us feel so cool," Swift chimed in. "We had to hide in a bathroom … I grabbed Ed and I was like, 'Cops are here. Come with me.' Who would have thought I'd be the one who, like, knows how to get you away from the police?' "

After escaping from the bathroom, the duo headed to another post-Grammys party, where, as Swift put it, "a lot of weird things" continued to happen. "Ed was in a special place," Swift recalled. "We spent 10 minutes hugging koala bears."

The next morning, Swift was reminded of a run-in with a fellow musical star: "I woke up with an email from The Weeknd and he was like, 'You told me how beautiful I was for about 15 minutes straight and started to pet my hair.' It looked really cool that night and I apparently went on and on about it … I was like 'You're so magnificent.' "

SAOIRSE RONAN GAVE HIM A TATTOO ... AND MISSPELLED IT

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At an April 2017 concert, Sheeran took a break from his set to share a funny story with his fans: Ronan, who stars in his music video for "Galway Girl," was planning on inking his arm with the song title. But when the time came for her to spell out the word "Girl," she flubbed and wrote "Grill" instead.

"When we were filming it I meant to get a tattoo of her handwriting saying 'Galway Girl' and it's kind of point of view and I get the tattoo. It actually says Galway Grill. Like full on, full on she really took the piss out of me with this one. It actually says Galway Grill. G-r-i-l-l. I thought I'd tell you that — I haven't told anyone that yet."

HIS FIRST DATE WITH WIFE CHERRY SEABORN WAS AT TAYLOR SWIFT'S FOURTH OF JULY PARTY

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"I've known Cherry since I was 11," the singer told PEOPLE of his wife. "She worked on Wall Street in New York, and I had like six shows [around New York in 2015]."

"It was around then, and we reconnected. I went on tour again, and then I went to Taylor's 4th of July party," he added. "I was texting [Seaborn], and she was like, 'I'm in Rhode Island at a 4th of July party,' and I was like, 'So am I.' I kinda said to Taylor, 'Can I invite one of my old schoolmates?' The rest is history."

HE HAS HOOKED UP WITH TAYLOR SWIFT'S FRIENDS

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While he has always denied to hooking up with Swift, he did admit to hooking up with certain (unnamed) members of T-Swift's famous squad — before he fell for his wife, of course. "Taylor's world is celebrity," he revealed to Rolling Stone. "I was this 22-year-old awkward British kid going on tour with the biggest artist in America, who has all these famous mates. It was very easy ... I would often find myself in situations just kind of waking up and looking over and being like, 'How the f— did that happen?' "

HE ONCE TOOK SHOTS WITH BEYONCÉ

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"She was so confused — so confused!" Sheeran recalled of the Lemonade mastermind taking a Red Bull-Jägermeister shot. Sheeran, who performed with Queen Bey at the Grammys' Stevie Wonder tribute and the Global Citizen Festival in 2015, has also gotten to know the performer's husband, JAY-Z.

"I had the thing in my mind where you just assume something," he told PEOPLE of his preconceived notions of the couple. "And then they're so human and lovely and nice and normal and talk about normal things and do normal things. It was being invited into a world that you were kind of scared to enter into, and then you just realize: They're a very, very loving couple, and it's obviously a world that's filled with love and respect, and it's lovely to see. I feel like the media and the public see one thing, and what it actually is, it's a really cool thing. And they're really nice people."

HE DRUNKENLY HIT JUSTIN BIEBER WITH A GOLF CLUB

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In an interview with The Guardian, Sheeran recalled one drunken evening in Japan when Bieber challenged him to hit a golf ball off a dangerous tee: his mouth. "We'd been out to a dive bar. He just drank water and I got hammered," Sheeran explained. "Then we went to a golf course, and he lay on the floor and put a golf ball in his mouth and told me to hit it out of his mouth. I was like, 'F—, I need to aim this properly,' and I swung."

Predictably, the stunt did not work out as hoped. "You know in films when someone gets punched, and you hear that fake sound, like a slap? But in real life when someone gets punched, you hear that dull thud, a bit sickening? I heard a sound like the last one," Sheeran said.

HE TAUGHT JAMES BLUNT TO WRITE MUSIC IN EXCHANGE FOR SKIING LESSONS

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When it came time to develop a new sound, Blunt recruited Sheeran's songwriting abilities while the "You're Beautiful" crooner taught Sheeran how to ski. "I spent a lot of time in Switzerland, and he wanted to ski. So I took him on a skiing holiday and I was his ski instructor by day," Blunt told PEOPLE Now. "And by night, he taught me how to write songs."

"He said, this is your job, let's write something really open and genuine," Blunt added. "It was a real education. It took me back to how I started off."

PRINCESS BEATRICE SLASHED HIS FACE WITH A SWORD AT A ROWDY PARTY

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During an appearance on The Graham Norton Show, Sheeran seemed to confirm rumors that Princess Beatrice accidentally slashed his face with a sword while pretending to knight James Blunt at a party.

"I have no idea how it came out as there weren't a lot of people there that night," Sheeran told Norton on the hit BBC One talk show. "For two weeks after, I had a huge gash on my face and would tell people I fell and then suddenly, the story came out."