At Eurovision 2023, The Princess of Wales has made an unexpected appearance. On Saturday night, as the grand final was being broadcast, a video of Princess Catherine playing the piano was shown to viewers. The royal was seen playing the piano as part of the opening sequence for the 2018 Eurovision Song Contest, which was filmed in Windsor Castle’s Crimson Drawing Room.
Photo: Alex Bramall
The winning entry, Stefania, by Kalush Orchestra, from the center of Kyiv, Ukraine, was performed during the opening film’s introduction of the previous year’s champions. They were joined by several British performers throughout the show, including The Princess of Wales, Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber, Sam Ryder, Ms. Banks, Ballet Black, Bolt Strings, and Joss Stone.
Joe Price and Kojo Samuel wrote the music for the Princess’s instrumental piano performance.
Photo: Alex Bramall
According to reports, Princess Catherine wore a blue Jenny Packham gown as a nod to Ukraine, who was supposed to be hosting this year’s competition. The location of Eurovision 2023 has been changed to the M&S Bank Arena in the heart of Liverpool due to the nation’s ongoing conflict with Russia.
The Prince and Princess of Wales’ official Twitter account tweeted after Catherine’s performance: “A #Eurovision surprise. A pleasure to join Kalush Orchestra in a special performance of last year’s winning @eurovision entry. Enjoy the show, Liverpool.”
Photo: Alex Bramall
Royal watchers may have also noticed that Princess Catherine wore earrings from her personal collection as a touching tribute to the late Queen Elizabeth II.
The wife of Prince William has previously shown off her musical abilities. Catherine played the piano during the program on Christmas Eve 2021 as Tom Walker gave a moving performance of his new song, “For Those Who Can’t Be Here.” Since then, Tom has called the royal’s and his duet a “once-in-a-lifetime experience.”
The Scottish singer told ITV that she “completely nailed the performance.” “I thought she absolutely smashed the performance; it’s not easy to just jump behind a piano with a bunch of musicians you’ve never played with before and record live takes to camera, but she completely nailed it,” the singer said.
In an interview with The Sun, Tom said: “I probably owe her royalties now because it was so well received. She wrote me a letter thanking me for the chance, but I should have been the one to say that.”
“She was so welcoming, and it was a wonderful experience. While she made an effort to thank each musician, we were more appreciative to have been a part of something so special.”
