Kate Middleton plays piano at Together at Christmas in December 2021. Photo: Alex Bramall/Kensington Palace via Getty
Among Kate Middleton’s unique talents — including her tennis abilities, drawing skills and photography know-how — the Princess of Wales revealed another hidden talent in 2021: playing the piano.
On Dec. 8 that year, she hosted her community carol service concert, Royal Carols: Together at Christmas, celebrating the life and legacy of Queen Elizabeth II. Kate confidently accompanied Scottish singer-songwriter Tom Walker on the keys (in her first public performance!) for his poignant rendition of “For Those Who Can’t Be Here,” surrounded by candles lighting up Westminster Abbey.
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,” he told the Evening Standard at 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 for Prince William and Kate’s wedding ceremony in 2011, sending them a recording as a present.
According to Classic FM, Kate also studied singing and the flute, achieving a grade five for both singing and music theory. In a throwback video shared on TikTok, Kate displayed her singing talents during a school production of My 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!”
Kate isn’t the only member of the royal family with musical talent.
Queen Elizabeth grew up playing piano, and Princess Diana also could play piano tunes, per Classic FM. King Charles studied 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 for Playing For Change Foundation. She actually sang “Out of Blue” for the first time at her wedding reception in May 2019.