They’re known for horses not harmony! So meet the members of the Royal Family who can actually hold a tune (and play an instrument or two…)

For all their many accomplishments, the Windsors have rarely been thought of as sparkling musicians. 

Princesses Margaret and Elizabeth both learnt to play the pianoforte, although it was Margaret rather than her sister, the Queen, who would become associated with the performing  arts.

Charles had a go with trumpet and the cello but not, as he admits, to any great effect.

Horses have mostly come before harmony.  

Yet that doesn’t mean the royals haven’t tried and, in a few cases, succeeded in mastering musical instruments – delighting the rest of us when their hidden talents are unexpectedly revealed…

King Charles

The King, 74, has been a long supporter of the arts and has patronages at at the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music and the Royal College of Music.

He learned to play the cello and one took part with the orchestra of Trinity College, Cambridge, where he was studying

Charles spoke about the experience to poet Simon Armitage on the BBC Radio 4 podcast, The Poet Laureate Has Gone to His Shed

‘I loved playing in the orchestra at Trinity – albeit rather badly,’ explained Charles.

‘I remember playing in Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony and trying to practise in my room at Cambridge to an old record conducted by Herbert von Karajan, who was the great conductor in those days, in the sixties. 

‘There was me sitting with my cello and my tuning fork, and I put this thing on, and of course he took it at an incredible lick – you’ve no idea how fast!’

He also went on to tell Armitage that he was a ‘a very bad member’ of the cello section during his time at Cambridge. 

His love of musical goes back to watching the ballet with his grandmother, the Queen Mother, in his younger years. 

But the cello is not the only instrument that Charles learnt to play, as he also knows how to play a tune on the trumpet and the piano as a child. 

But Charles has also taken up the role as a conductor before. 

On a trip in 2004, he visited the Royal College of Music and conducted the Elastic Band Orchestra.

For Queen Camilla’s 60th birthday, he also conducted the Philharmonia Orchestra in a performance of Wagner’s Siegfried Idyll, which he once described as ‘possibly the most romantic music of all time.’ 

The Queen and Princess Margaret

Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret Rose both learned to play the piano, although Elizabeth was already aged 11 when she started. Margaret Rose was just four.

According to historian Ian Lloyd, they were taught by their mother, Elizabeth, Queen Consort, and later by the organist at St George’s Chapel, Windsor.

‘Unlike Margaret who was a competent player, Elizabeth didn’t pursue it into adulthood, preferring outdoor pursuits,’ says Lloyd.

‘She was a shyer character than Margaret and wouldn’t have liked playing before anyone other than immediate family.’

Unlike her elder sister, Margaret embraced the arts, becoming a noted patron of The Royal Ballet and associated companies.

Roddy Llewellyn, her boyfriend following the breakdown of her marriage to Tony Snowden, could also play the piano and the two would perform duets at parties.

In the course of their eight-year relationship, the princess gave Llewellyn a Bechstein upright as a gift. It was auctioned in 2022.

Catherine, Princess of Wales

Many will remember Kate’s surprise performance at last year’s Eurovision finals

Looking glamorous in a  show-stopping sapphire gown, the video showed the Princess of Wales laughing as she played the piano. 

The clip was shared on the Wales’s official Instagram with the caption: ‘#Eurovision surprise. A pleasure to join @kalush.official in a special performance of last year’s winning @eurovision entry.

‘Enjoy the show, Liverpool.’

Kate also played the piano at Westminster Abbey on Christmas Eve in 2021, which marked her first ever public piano performance. 

She did a duet with Tom Walker, who sung, as the pair performed ‘For Those Who Can’t Be Here,’ when the world was beginning to come out of the Coronavirus pandemic.

She was taught how to play the instrument in her early years, alongside her siblings James and Pippa and their mother, Carole. 

But piano is not the only instrument that the Princess of Wales dabbles in, as she has played the flute but also sung before.

She played the flute during her school years at St Andrew’s in Pangbourne, Berkshire.

She was a member of St Andrews inaugural Chamber Orchestra and of the senior flute group – amusingly known as the Tootie-Flooties – along with her younger sister, Pippa. 

Friends say she was also deputy head chorister in the chapel choir and was once commended in a BBC carol competition.

Shortly before she left the school, she passed her Associated Board Grade III flute examination with merit and also her Grade V singing. 

Like her father-in-law, Kate also tried her hand at conducting, when she lead the the Hamburg Philharmonic State Orchestra, during a visit to Germany in 2017.

Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis

It seems the Wales children are taking after their mother’s musical talent, as they are all learning instruments. 

The Princess of Wales shared that Prince George, nine, was taking electric guitar lessons.

However the young royal is also learning how to play the piano, according to Closer. 

A source told the outlet: ‘George has recently started piano lessons and is a complete natural. He’ll play for hours!’

Princess Charlotte, eight, is also learning how to play the piano, taking after her talented mother. 

The brother and sister duo previously attended Thomas’s Battersea Prep, which costs £19,000 per annum, where they encourage musical activity.

Now they attend Lambrook School in Berkshire, with their younger brother, Prince Louis, aged five. 

Music and drama lessons are part of the curriculum for all students and each year group also gets the opportunity to perform a play during the academic year. 

Music and the performing arts are ‘incredibly popular’ with pupils, according to the school’s website, as they state that 85 per cent of pupils are receiving extra lessons.  

Prince William

The Prince of Wales has a musical talent of his own – he can play the bass guitar. 

William, 41, who has admitted to liking Linkin Park, Coldplay and Kanye West before, told Brinsley Forde of Aswad about his skill for the instrument while he was presented with an MBE.

After their exchange, a delighted Mr Forde said: ‘I’ve just got a new bass player – you might know him as the Duke of Cambridge.

‘He said ‘I’m a bit good on the bass guitar’ so I’m thinking of signing him up, but he’s got such a lot of other duties I don’t know whether he’ll have time to do it.’

In 2014 when visiting a school, William also revealed that he played a plethora of instruments in his younger years.

The Prince made the remark at Goole High School, East Yorkshire, to launch a new award for primary school children as royal patron of the charity SkillForce, which draws on the values and skills of ex-forces personnel to inspire young people to achieve at school. 

As he chatted to members of the school’s samba band, which was providing the musical accompaniment, he refused an offer to play one of the drums. 

The Prince of Wales told the school band: ‘I used to play the piano, trumpet and drums when I was your age but I couldn’t read music.’

Prince Harry

When the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s trailer for their explosive Netflix docuseries was released, a photo of Prince Harry emerged of him holding – and seemingly playing – a guitar. 

But when you try to recreate the chord he is playing, things get complicated.

In an article at the time, Richard Eden wrote that Frank Skinner raised some awkward questions.

The comedian, 66, said: ‘The chord he’s playing is one I’ve never seen before. So Buzz, my son, who’s ten, said: ‘Hold on a minute…’

‘He got our guitar and we froze the frame and he hit the chord. It was the ugliest sound.’

Professional guitarist Nic Dacre told Metro: ‘He could be transitioning from/into a B minor 7th. But I doubt it.’ 

Duchess of Kent 

As a young girl, the Duchess of Kent was taught how to play the piano, violin and the organ, narrowly missing out on a place at the Royal Academy of Music.

At the age of 25, Katharine studied music alongside French at at Queen’s College, Oxford.  

After withdrawing from royal duties in 1996, the Duchess, now 90, took up a role as a music teacher at Wansbeck Primary School in Hull, which she held for 13 years.

Speaking to the The Telegraph, she said: ‘I was just known as Mrs Kent.

‘Only the head knew who I was. The parents didn’t know and the pupils didn’t know. No one ever noticed. There was no publicity about it at all – it just seemed to work.’

During this time, she saw that while many children had talent, they needed more financial support to fulfil their musical potential. 

So she founded charity Future Talent in 2004, which aims to give every child an equal opportunity to excel in music. 

The charity helps spot talent and equips children and young people with instruments and tuition to help them achieve. 

She told the Hull Daily Mail at the time: ‘I’ve studied music all my life, it’s my passion.

‘My other passion is children – being able to share and pass on your love of music to children is the greatest privilege a teacher can have.’

It has also said that she used to rent a studio apartment in near her residence in Kensington, London, to conduct piano lessons. 

The Duchess even revealed that she loves in rap music during an interview with Radio 3 in 2005.

Speaking to the Sunday Telegraph at the time, Katharine said that while her husband, Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, prefers ‘very serious’ music, she will listen to ‘anything.’

The royal said that she even likes listening to beatboxing. 

Meghan Markle 

The Duchess of Sussex seems to have dabbled with a few musical instruments.

For example,  an old CV from her acting days  suggested that she has a range of musical talents, including playing the guitar, drums and ‘finger cymbals’. 

Meghan is ambidextrous, meaning that she can use both her left and right hands comfortably. Only one per cent of people in the world are able to do this. 

While the Duchess waves, holds her handbag and writes with her right hand, she eats, drinks and plays the guitar with her left hand. 

It is said she performed the lead in musicals while at school.

In 2018 footage emerged of the royal singing Santa Baby at the December 1998 Immaculate Heart High School Christmas show in Los Angeles.

Then 17 years old, teenage Markle took to the stage with her friend, Natalie Fryman.

They both sported Santa hats to get into the festive spirit and looked at ease as they strutted around the stage, hitting every note.