Kate Middleton learnt piano when she was 10; took 'great comfort' in playing music during pandemic

Kate Middleton left everyone surprised after revealing her hidden talent of playing the piano, and "smashed" her first public performance for the "Together at Christmas" carol service broadcast. Unbeknownst to her fans, the Duchess of Cambridge had learned to play the instrument at a very young age and used to take "great comfort" in playing music during the coronavirus-induced lockdown.

According to a report in People magazine, it was the Duchess herself who proposed the idea of her playing the piano as singer Tom Walker performed a rendition of his poignant Christmas song "For Those Who Can't Be Here" at Westminster Abbey. A royal source said, "Music was very important to the Duchess during the lockdowns. She also recognises 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."

Kate's musical talents were also praised by her former piano instructor Daniel Nicholls, who taught her to play from the time she was 10 or 11 until she turned 13. Ahead of Kate's wedding with Prince William in April 2011, Nicholls had composed a song for the couple and sent it to them as a present.

In a conversation with Evening Standard in 2012, he had said about teaching the future Queen Consort in the 1990s, "She was absolutely lovely, a really delightful person to teach the piano."

"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," said Nicholls, who also gave music lessons to Kate's younger siblings James and Pippa, and their mother Carole.

As per a report in Classic FM, Kate is also trained in singing and the flute, and achieved a grade five for both singing and music theory. She sang "Wouldn't it be Loverly" when she played Lady Eliza Doolittle in a school production of "My Fair Lady." She played in the school's chamber orchestra, and in a senior flute group named the "Tootie-Flooties," and was also a deputy head chorister in the chapel choir.