Veteran rocker Rod Stewart issued a grovelling apology to Britain's Prince Charles on Tuesday (10Sep13) after keeping the royal waiting at an official engagement.

The musician and his wife Penny Lancaster were scheduled to meet the prince at the opening of his charity's new shop in London, but the couple turned up 10 minutes late after their car got caught in traffic.

Prince Charles was left waiting for the singer, breaching protocol which dictates royals should always be the last to arrive for events.

Stewart was left red-faced when he eventually turned up and apologised to the prince for his tardiness, later telling reporters, "We have a place (house) over in Wapping (east London) and it took us three-quarters of an hour to get here... I wish I had my own police escort, I would always be on time."