The Duchess of Cambridge was the surprise hit of a British royal family carol service after she revealed her piano skills.
A clip on the Kensington Palace Twitter feed teased Kate's musical accompaniment to the Christmas Eve carol service and pop star Tom Walker confirmed how they rehearsed so she could hone her, until now, little-known talent.
Walker, known for his hit Leave A Light On, described Kate as an “amazing musician” who “absolutely nailed” playing the piano for the service at Westminster Abbey, in London.
They got together for rehearsals in a recording studio before the concert, which was broadcast on Christmas Eve.
“I didn't even know she played piano,” Walker said. “It was very secret, very secret — even the studio didn't know what was going on. We were sitting on opposite sides of the room, for Covid, rehearsing.
“So we got together, we rehearsed the song like nine times and by the end of it she'd absolutely nailed it, and then she went away for a couple of days and practised it, and then we finally got to do the recording of it.
“And I was really impressed because it's one thing playing along with me in a studio, just the two of us, but then to jump straight in to playing with a live string quartet and a pianist and two backing singers, all of which she'd never met before, and then doing live takes in front of the camera — that's a whole other jump from jamming.
“She absolutely nailed it and I was so surprised at how great she was at keeping time, because she had to start the song off and lead it.
“Amazing musician and what an amazing day, it was crazy.”
In a recorded introduction to the service, the duchess paid tribute to the “inspirational” people who have served their communities during the “bleak time” of the pandemic.
Kate said: “We wanted to say a huge thank you to all those amazing people out there who have supported their communities.
“We also wanted to recognise those whose struggles perhaps have been less visible too.”
The duchess said the country had been through “such a bleak time” and had faced “many challenges”, including the loss of loved ones, while frontline workers had been under “immense pressure".
For Queen Elizabeth, it is her Christmas without her husband, Prince Philip, who died in April.
The Queen is expected to be joined at Windsor Castle on Christmas Day by the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall, having shelved her customary trip to Sandringham as a “precautionary” measure amid rising coronavirus cases. She also cancelled her traditional pre-Christmas family lunch.
Her speech will be broadcast at 3pm GMT on Christmas Day.
Queen Elizabeth's 2021 - in pictures
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Queen Elizabeth at the 2021 Trooping the Colour parade. The year has been one of loss and sorrow for the British monarch, capped by the cancelled plans for an extended family lunch to celebrate Christmas at Windsor Castle. All photos: Getty Images -
Queen Elizabeth recording the video message broadcast to attendees at an evening reception to mark the opening day of the Cop26 summit in Glasgow on November 1, 2021. -
Queen Elizabeth attends the Qipco British Champions Day at Ascot Racecourse in October. -
The British monarch on a screen via video link from Windsor Castle during a virtual audience at Buckingham Palace in October. -
Children from Crathie Primary School present Queen Elizabeth with a card at the Balmoral Estate in October, where she and Prince Charles planted a tree to mark the start of the official planting season for the Queen's Green Canopy, near Crathie, Scotland. -
The queen during an inspection in August of Balaklava Company, 5 Battalion the Royal Regiment of Scotland, at the gates of Balmoral as she takes up summer residence at the castle. -
Actors wait to meet Queen Elizabeth during a visit to the set of the long-running television series 'Coronation Street' in July in Manchester. -
Queen Elizabeth receives the Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany during an audience at Windsor Castle in July. -
Queen Elizabeth greets Prime Minister Boris Johnson during the first in-person weekly audience with the prime minister since the start of the coronavirus pandemic at Buckingham Palace in June. -
Queen Elizabeth with US President Joe Biden and Jill Biden, the first lady, in the Grand Corridor during their visit to Windsor Castle in June. -
Queen Elizabeth attends a military ceremony in the quadrangle of Windsor Castle to mark her official birthday in June. -
Queen Elizbeth with world leaders at The Eden Project during the G7 Summit in June in St Austell, Cornwall. -
Prince Charles, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, Queen Elizabeth, Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, arrive for a reception at The Eden Project during the G7 Summit in June. -
Queen Elizabeth, escorted by Prince Charles, follows the imperial state crown along the royal gallery during the state opening of Parliament at the House of Lords in May. -
Capt Angus Essenhigh, Queen Elizabeth and Commodore Steve Moorhouse during a visit to 'HMS Queen Elizabeth' before the ship's maiden deployment in May in Portsmouth. -
Queen Elizabeth watches pallbearers carry the coffin of her late husband, Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, into St George’s Chapel during the funeral at Windsor Castle in April. -
Pallbearers with the coffin of Prince Philip at Windsor Castle in April. -
Queen Elizabeth signs her annual Commonwealth Day Message in St George's Hall at Windsor Castle to mark Commonwealth Day in March.
