Pierce and Shea Charles celebrate Shea's 23rd birthday at their London home ahead of Northern Ireland's Nations League fixtures

Pierce and Shea Charles marked Shea's 23rd birthday during an exclusive interview at their London home published on 10 November 2026, where the brothers discussed family life, childhood mishaps and their international duties.

Born and raised in Manchester, the siblings are living in London for the first time while sharing a home for the third time; both came through Manchester City's academy, Pierce moved to Sheffield Wednesday aged 16 and Shea stayed at the Etihad before making his Premier League debut under Pep Guardiola in May 2023 and joining Southampton that summer.

After a 2024-25 loan reunion at Sheffield Wednesday, Pierce returned to Manchester City this summer on a long-term deal then joined Queens Park Rangers on loan, while Shea completed a £30m move to Fulham from Southampton in August; both now live in west London and have found time for gaming debates and domestic rivalries at home.

In the birthday clip Pierce waits in the kitchen to surprise Shea with a cake and launches into 'Happy Birthday' for the cameras; the brothers recalled garden kickabouts that would turn intensely competitive, turning a best-of-three two-touch contest into a best-of-five and eventually a rematch.

Childhood anecdotes included a blame exchange over a broken clock and a lamp, with Shea saying, "I broke the clock but I didn't break the lamp. It actually wasn't me, I swear," and a near-admission of guilt with the aside, "I loved that lamp."

Both recall early London memories, including meeting Team GB heptathlete Katarina Johnson-Thompson at the London 2012 Olympics and racing outside the London Stadium; Pierce noted the irony of playing at that same ground 14 years later, having made a late double save to earn QPR a draw at the London Stadium and saved Jarrod Bowen's last-gasp penalty when QPR visited West Ham in October, with his man of the match trophy displayed at home.

The brothers are part of a young Northern Ireland squad that tops Group B2 in the Nations League after four matches without conceding; the campaign began in Georgia in September, where Pierce saved a penalty from Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and denied Georges Mikautadze before Shea scored a stoppage-time winner nine minutes into added time. Pierce said, "I think that's what started the good run," and added, "You can't win a game like that and fall off."

Family visits from older brother Eoin and parents Mary and Kelvin prompt debates over chores—Mary was born in Northern Ireland—and domestic routines; Pierce joked, "I think she secretly wants it to be messy, so she can have a little dig at us and do it anyway," with Shea adding, "She enjoys it really, she's not on holiday," and, "Mum is class. We appreciate mum." Pierce also mentioned a domestic rivalry over who cooks the better steak sandwich and hopes to learn a peppercorn sauce recipe from the QPR chef.

Northern Ireland will host Ukraine in Belfast on Saturday and finish their Nations League group in Hungary on 17 November; Pierce said, "Two wins would be the dream and it would set us up nicely for the next few years," and added, "The next few games will be tough but we can't wait."