Kate Middleton plays piano atTogether at Christmasin December 2021.Photo: Alex Bramall/Kensington Palace via Getty
AmongKate Middleton’s unique talents — including hertennis abilities,drawing skillsandphotography know-how— the Princess of Wales revealed another hidden talent in 2021:playing the piano.
According to a royal source, the idea for the performance came from the princess herself, who learned the piano as a child and took “great comfort” in playing music throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Music was very important to the [then] Duchess during the lockdowns,” said the royal source. “She also recognizes the powerful way in which music brings people together — especially during difficult times. For these reasons, she was keen to be part of Tom’s performance in this way.”
In 2012, Kate’s former piano instructor, Daniel Nicholls, opened up about teaching the future queen in the 1990s, from when she was 10 or 11 until 13.
“She was absolutely lovely, a really delightful person to teach the piano,” hetold theEvening Standardat the time.
Kate reportedly reached grade three on the piano — the highest performance level is eight for the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music (ABRSM).
Nicholls added, “I don’t think anyone would say she was going to be a concert pianist, but she was good at it; she always did everything she was told.”
The piano teacher composed his own song forPrince Williamand Kate’swedding ceremonyin 2011, sending them a recording as a present.
According to Classic FM, Kate alsostudied singing and the flute, achieving a grade five for both singing and music theory. In athrowback video shared on TikTok, Kate displayed her singing talents during a school production ofMy Fair Lady.
As leading lady Eliza Doolittle, a then-11-year-old Kate sang “Wouldn’t It Be Loverly?”
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If Kate was nervous about her holiday performance, she didn’t show it — and according to Walker, she “absolutely smashed” it.
“It’s not easy to just jump behind a piano with a bunch of musicians you’ve never played with before and record live takes to camera, but she completely nailed it,” the singer said.
Walker added, “She’s such a lovely, kind and warm-hearted person, and she took the time to thank everyone personally for the opportunity to play together. It was a crazy pinch-yourself kind of day for me, to be in such a beautiful venue, playing alongside the [then] Duchess with my band and a string quartet. I certainly won’t forget that in a hurry!”
Princess Diana with Prince William and Prince Harry.Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty Images
Kate isn’t the only member of the royal family with musical talent.
Queen Elizabeth grew up playing piano, andPrincess Dianaalso could play piano tunes,per Classic FM.King Charlesstudied several instruments, but the cello earned him a seat in the Trinity College Orchestra.
Lady Gabriella Windsor, the daughter of the late monarch’s first cousin, released two songs in 2020 — “Out of Blue” and “Bam Bam” — under the pseudonym Ella Windsor to raise funds and awareness forPlaying For Change Foundation. She actually sang “Out of Blue” for the first time at herwedding receptionin May 2019.
source: people.com
