As the Duchess of Cambridge played the piano to accompany singer Tom Walker in a sad song performed by candlelight at Westminster Abbey, millions of Britons were treated to a special Christmas treat on television tonight.
Kate, who has been playing the piano since she was a child, recorded the song with Walker in the Chapter House of Westminster Abbey on December 8, one day before a community carol service that was broadcast on ITV tonight evening. Kate has been playing the piano since she was a youngster.
Following a meeting with Walker in October, the Duchess had the idea for the performance after hearing him perform at a charity occasion. They sang his Christmas hit, “For Those Who Can’t Be Here,” together.
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Walker sang his song ‘Leave a Light On’ at an event for The Forward Trust, a London-based charity that assists those suffering from drug and alcohol addiction. The song is about the challenges of those who are addicted to drugs or alcohol.
As a result, the 30-year-old singer was approached to perform at the carol service; Kate (39), who had come up with the idea of accompanying him on the piano after music had provided her with “great comfort” during the lockdowns, was then approached to perform.
It was said that the Duchess was ‘very apprehensive’ during her first rehearsal, ‘because it had been a very long time since she had played with another musician,’ according to Mirror Online.
Walker explained that because of Covid, the two had to sit on opposite sides of the room in order to practise the emotional performance.
In an interview with MailOnline, he stated that the entire plot was a’very, very secret’ and that they were both terrified of messing it up.
Walker praised Kate (pictured playing the piano during Friday’s aired ITV performance) for being an ‘amazing musician’ and said that although she was quite nervous when they first rehearsed in a studio, she went away and ‘invested a lot of time and energy into getting it right’
Kate plays the grand piano while Tom Walker sings his emotional Christmas single For Those Who Can’t Be Here, which aired on ITV on Christmas Eve
Kate (seen far left) and Tom Walker (centre) gave an emotional performance by candlelight at Westminster Abbey
Walker gave the Duchess a backing track to practise with before the performance and said he was ‘shocked at how much better she was’ when it came to the actual show, which left him ‘really impressed.’
Despite the fact that Kate had been playing the piano since she was a youngster, Walker explained that the type of piano she was practising on, which would be the same one used in the performance, was different from the one she used at home, and she had to get used to it.
The song was practised nine times, and by the end of it, she had completely nailed it. She then went away for a couple of days to further perfect it, and then we eventually got to make the recording of it,’ he explained.
‘I think we were both a little anxious that things weren’t going to go quite as planned and that one of us would let the other down or something, but she was just wonderful – she smashed it,’ he continued.
Walker wrote the song for “anyone raising a glass around the table remembering those who can’t be with us” this holiday season, as hundreds of thousands of people are expected to spend Christmas Day in self-isolation due to the Covid-19 virus, while others think of members of their family and friends who have died as a result of the virus or other causes.
As Walker put it, the Duchess is a “beautiful, kind and warm-hearted lady.” She also commended him for saying she had “absolutely destroyed” the performance, and he said it was a “crazy pinch yourself type of day” for him.
His compliments also extended to Kate, who he described as “an fantastic musician.” He stated that, despite her being frightened during their first studio rehearsal, she “went away and devoted a lot of time and work into getting it right.”
In the days leading up to the performance, Walker provided the Duchess with a background track so she could practise. He was’shocked at how much better she was’ when it came time to perform in front of the audience, and he was’really impressed.’
Despite the fact that his mother had a ‘complete freak out,’ he expressed his gratitude for the opportunity to perform with the Duchess of Cambridge for Royal Carols: Together at Christmas. The experience was, without a question, one that will be remembered forever.
The performance, I thought, was just fantastic; it’s not simple to just hop behind a piano with a bunch of musicians you’ve never played with before and record live takes to camera, but she totally killed it.
The fact that she took the time to thank everyone individually for the opportunity to play together speaks volumes about her character as a charming, kind, and warm-hearted person.
