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Who Are James Blunt's Parents? Meet Colonel Charles Blount & Jane Blount
James Blunt, 52, made it to the final of BBC One's The Celebrity Traitors, which ended on October 30.
His father, Colonel Charles Blount, is a former cavalry officer and Army helicopter pilot; his mother, Jane, founded a ski chalet business in the French Alps.
Blunt's 2019 song "Monsters" was written for his father during his battle with stage four kidney disease. A cousin later donated a kidney.
James Blunt has been one of the breakout stars of this year's Celebrity Traitors, and his military-style approach to the game has sent fans digging into his background. The "You're Beautiful" singer made it to the final episode of the BBC One series, which concluded on October 30, before being banished. Speaking to the BBC this week, Blunt described himself as the "yapping terrier" to Michael Sheen's "mature labrador" as the pair hunted for traitors, and admitted he had secretly tried to get himself banished, Yahoo reported.
His drill-sergeant energy in the castle is no accident. Blunt comes from a long line of soldiers, and the parents who shaped him have featured in some of the most personal moments of his career. Here is what to know about them.
Who are James Blunt's Parents?
James Blunt was born James Hillier Blount on February 22, 1974, at Tidworth Camp military hospital in Hampshire. He is the eldest of three children born to Charles Blount and Jane Ann Farran Blount, née Amos, and has two younger sisters.
The family moved regularly because of his father's army postings, though Blunt grew up mainly in St Mary Bourne, Hampshire. He also spent time in Cley-next-the-Sea in Norfolk, where his father owned the historic Cley Windmill. He still uses Blount as his legal surname.
Who is James Blunt's Father, Charles Blount?
Colonel Charles Blount is a career soldier. He served as a cavalry officer in the 13th/18th Royal Hussars, became a helicopter pilot and rose to the rank of colonel in the Army Air Corps. The Blount family's military history stretches back centuries, Grazia reported.
Blunt followed closely in his footsteps. Like his father, he became a pilot, gaining his licence as a teenager. He then went to Sandhurst on an army bursary, served as a captain in the Life Guards, was deployed to Kosovo, and stood guard at the Queen Mother's coffin in 2002, before leaving the army to pursue music.
The pair are extremely close. When Blunt released "Monsters" in 2019, he described his father as the man he "idolised as a child" and who "has been my best friend through adult life".
What Happened to James Blunt's Father?
In 2019, Blunt revealed that his father had stage four chronic kidney disease and needed a transplant. "My father's not very well actually, he needs a new kidney and a kidney donor," he told Good Morning Britain in October 2019, as reported by Surrey Live. He used the appearance to appeal for O-positive donors.
The donor turned out to be closer to home than expected. After the transplant in January 2020, Blunt explained on Loose Women that the kidney came from "a distant cousin of ours called Charlie Blunt", who shared his father's name, according to Hello!
Blunt later thanked the NHS team who carried out the operation. "It's really amazing to see the difference and what a second-hand kidney can do," he said on The One Show, Smooth Radio reported.
What is James Blunt's Song "Monsters" About?
"Monsters", released in November 2019 on his album Once Upon a Mind, is a farewell letter to his father, written when Blunt realised he might die. "When you realise your father's mortality it's a great opportunity to say the things I'd like to say to him," he explained.
Who is James Blunt's Mother, Jane Blount?
Jane Blount reportedly founded a ski chalet company in the French Alpine resort of Méribel. She has publicly stood up for her son. In 2011, after a BBC Radio 4 Today feature on privately educated pop stars, she emailed the programme to defend him. "My son James Blunt, who is hugely appreciated worldwide, receives harsh criticism here and we have, rather sadly, been aware that it is because of his background," she wrote, per BBC. She added that the family were "relieved that on the whole James's fan base take no notice of the critics". Blunt has acknowledged how much he relied on his parents before settling down. Before his marriage, he told The Telegraph's Nigel Farndale that "the support structure in my life is my parents", according to Farndale's archive.
Does James Blunt Have Children?
Yes. Blunt married Sofia Wellesley, granddaughter of the 8th Duke of Wellington, in 2014. The couple have two sons, whose names they keep private. Ed Sheeran is godfather to their elder son, and the late Carrie Fisher was his godmother.
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