Princess Kate and Princess Charlotte’s “Nerve-wracking” Piano Duet was “Such a Surprise” For Composer

Princess Kate Princess Charlotte Piano Duet

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Princess Kate and Princess Charlotte surprised everyone watching the Princess of Wales’s Christmas Carol Concert on Christmas Eve with a poignant piano duet, including the classical music composer responsible for the song. Erland Cooper, the 41-year-old Scottish composer who wrote “Holm Sound,” told BBC Breakfast that “it was a big surprise.”

“I’d had a chat with the princess earlier in the year and I knew she enjoyed playing this piece of music with family,” Erland said. “It was a big surprise to be invited to Windsor Castle just last week and hear it performed by a pair of princesses.” At Windsor Castle, Princess Kate and Princess Charlotte “played [the song] several times and then they asked me to have a wee go as well,” said Cooper. “I gave a few pointers, but I didn’t need to. I think I was there as a cheerleader.”

“Performing in front of a film crew and the person who wrote the music is a nerve-wracking thing for anybody, I’m sure,” the composer said. He described Princess Charlotte as “very confident” and said, “she played it really well. She plays it so beautifully.” The 2 minute, 55 second song has been streamed 15 million times on Spotify and has 205,000 views on YouTube, with one commenter saying “Princess Catherine and Princess Charlotte brought me here. I’m staying for the sublime music.”

Holm Sound was originally written for Cooper’s mother, coincidentally also named Charlotte. The song is about motherhood and the “full circle moment” of parents, children, and grandparents.The theme of the song was the perfect choice for the Princess of Wales’s Christmas Carol Concert, which was centered around “love in all its forms.” The service was focused on “love within families, through friendships, across communities, or even through powerful moments of connection with strangers. In a world that can often feel fragmented and disconnected, love is the force that reconnects us all – spanning generations, communities, cultures, and faiths.”

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Christine Ross is a freelancer writer, royal expert, broadcaster and podcaster. She's worked with news outlets including the BBC, Glamour, Talk TV, ET, PBS, CNN and 20/20 to cover the foremost royal events of the last decade, from Prince George’s birth to the coronation of King Charles III.

She previously served as co-host of Royally Us, a weekly royal podcast by Us Weekly. As a freelance writer and royal commentator she provides expert commentary, historical context and fashion analysis about royal families worldwide, with an emphasis on the British Royal Family.