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So grown up: Sir Elton John’s teenage sons Zachary and Elijah make rare appearance

Can you believe they're teenagers already?
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Sir Elton John and his husband, David Furnish, are proud parents to two children, Zachary and Elijah Furnish-John. 

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The five-time Grammy winner and former executive assistant started a family together, welcoming their sons Zachary in 2010 and Elijah in 2013. Both sons were born via the same surrogate. 

They’re so grown up! (Credit: Backgrid)

Elton and David have been together for over 30 years and marked both the 20th anniversary of their civil partnership and their 11th wedding anniversary on December 21, 2025.

Now teenagers, their boys are looking so grown up and fans were surprised to see them at David’s 64th birthday bash in Venice as they wheeled out the lavish birthday cake.

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The family were in Venice for David’s 64th birthday. (Credit: Backgrid)

Zachary and Elijah were also snapped with their dads leaving the Italian city, bags in hand and dressed in casual attire.

Scroll on for everything you need to know about their family.

The boys were at dad David’s birthday bash in Venice. (Credit: Instagram)
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How many children does Elton John have?

Elton and David were ecstatic to welcome their two children.

“Both of us have longed to have children, but the reality that we now have two sons is almost unbelievable,” the singer said in a statement in 2013.

He later described his children as “the greatest thing in our lives,” while appearing on The Ellen DeGeneres Show in 2016.

Elton has always been open about his desire to start a family. In an interview with The Guardian in 2012, the Tiny Dancer singer discussed his struggles growing up as an only child. At the time, he and David had only welcomed Zachary, but shared their plans to have another child.

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“I spent it [his childhood] in my room, listening to music if my parents were rowing. I think it’s difficult to be an only child and to be an only child of someone famous,” he told the publication. 

But, they have now completed their family, with Elton telling The Sun in 2019 that they are “too old to have any more” children.

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The boys are so young in this sweet snap! (Credit: Instagram)

Who will inherit Elton John’s fortune?

It is common knowledge that Elton is extremely successful, and along with that comes an abundance of perks, including an extraordinary life made possible by his wealth.

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Elton is well aware of his fortune, and both he and David are “aware of the pitfalls that might happen,” Elton told The Guardian in 2015. 

Despite Elton’s fortune, which in turn makes his children extremely wealthy, the loved-up couple is adamant on teaching them the value of money.

“They are spoilt in the way they live and how they’re living, but they’re not spoilt when it comes to the rules they have to live by,” he revealed. 

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The family of four supports each other in everything. (Credit: Instagram)
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Zachary and Elijah help in the kitchen and the garden and are, in turn, rewarded with pocket money.

“They’ve got to learn the value of doing something and earning something for themselves,” Elton admitted.

The proud parents have also taught the boys to split their money in three ways: charity, saving, and spending. They are given “£3 pocket money” given to them in three coins to separate into each of these jars. 

Whilst Elton doesn’t tend to share too many photos of the boys, a family portrait taken by photographer Catherine Opie was hung in London’s National Portrait Gallery in March 2026 as part of Opie’s first ever UK exhibition.

In the portrait, the family-of-four pose in front of a wall of books with their pet dog.

“It’s a very proud moment for me because I’m so proud of my boys, I’m so proud of David and I’m so proud of Cathy,” Elton said at the grand unveiling.

Do Elton John’s kids like his music?

In March 2024, country music star Kacey Musgraves spoke about her time spent with Elton on tour and how much the music legend missed his family when he was away.

 “I’ll never forget Elton playing in Nashville and getting to catch up with him in his dressing room after, with all the Gucci and sunglasses lying around. And a big cardboard cut-out of his husband and kids,” she told The Times. 

Despite the distance between them, Zachary and Elijah attended plenty of their father’s shows over the years, and even occasionally joined him on stage… so it’s a good thing they’re fans of his music!

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Elton John and David Furnish share two sons together, Zachary and Elijah. (Credit: Getty)

Despite being “more interested in Hotline Bling by Drake or Uptown Funk“, Elton previously revealed that his sons will also sing Rocket Man and Benny and the Jets.

“They know who I am. They know what I do, but they’re more interested, to be honest with you, in their toys. And I’m fine with that. That’s good,” Elton told Today. 

In an admission about fatherhood in his documentary, Elton John: Never Too Late, the star made the heartbreaking admission that his sons have expressed their concern over his age and mortality.

“They love their daddy, so they want me to be around forever, [and] I would love to be around forever,” he shared.

“I want to see them have children and get married [but] I don’t think I’m going to be around for that….So that’s why I want to use the best of my time while I’m around. Time together is so wonderful and so precious.”

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Elton is a family man through and through. David and his two boys bring him so much joy! (Credit: Getty)

How did Elton John meet David Furnish?

Elton first met advertising executive David at a party back in 1993, and they quickly hit it off.

They went on their first date the day after meeting, but David said Elton was ” very shut down in terms of accepting love” at the time.

“No one had ever asked him to do personal things like go for a walk together, those kinds of joyful things,” he told TIME in December 2024.

Their relationship went from strength to strength, and Elton proposed to David in 2005, when civil partnerships between gay couples became legal in the UK.

On December 21, 2005, they became the first celebrity gay couple to register their relationship as a same sex civil partnership in the UK.

Exactly nine years later, Elton and David got married when same sex marriage was legalised in the UK.

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Elton John and David Furnish entered a civil partnership in 2005. (Credit: Getty)

They said “I do” at a small ceremony at their Windsor home on December 21, 2014.

On their double anniversary in 2025, Elton shared a sweet tribute to his husband.

“Happy anniversary to my incredible husband, @davidfurnish,” he gushed.

“Today we celebrate 20 years since our civil partnership, 11 years of marriage, and many more years of happiness to come!”

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