Remember when the internet lost it after seeing that golden piano in the background of the Queen’s Christmas Day speech? It led a lot of people to wonder if she actually plays.
Queen Elizabeth II plays the piano. She learned how to play the instrument when she was 11 years old. Her Majesty also has two honorary degrees in music and is a big patron of the arts. There is actually a title within the British court called Master of the Queen’s Music. On top of all of this, the Queen owns a gold grand piano.
Read more below about Queen Elizabeth II’s patronage of the arts, the role of the Master of the Queen’s Music, and this famed gold piano.
Queen Elizabeth II’s Musical Talents
As mentioned above, Queen Elizabeth II learned how to play the piano at the fairly young age of 11. This probably helped to foster a love for the arts in her right from a young age.
Throughout her reign, Her Majesty has honored musicians in countless ways and helped to support the arts. One of those actions was to create The Queen’s Medal for Music in 2005.
As the Royal Family’s website states “The purpose of this award is to raise the general profile of music within the UK and to reward individuals who have had a major influence on the musical life of the nation.”
It would be quite the honor to receive such a high level of recognition, one from the Queen herself. Such an award could also do wonders for a musician’s career.
Every year Queen Elizabeth II also creates what is called The Queen’s Birthday Honours List which always recognizes a handful of musicians and other artists. The people on this list are awarded honors such as the Knights Bachelor, Order of the Bath, and the Royal Victorian Medal to name a few.
It is the Birthday Honours and the New Year Honours where citizens of the Commonwealth Realm can receive a knighthood which means they can use the title ‘Sir’ or ‘Dame.’
On top of all of this, Queen Elizabeth II supports tons of different charities and is the patron of many different artists. She also appoints the title of Master of the Queen’s Music.
You can watch Stephen Hough playing Chopin’s ‘Nocturne in E flat major’ on Queen Victoria’s Erard piano. Queen Elizabeth II loaned it to the Royal Albert Hall for their Proms.
What does the Master of the Queen’s Music do?
The Master of the Queen’s Music has a very important role that would be comparable to that of a Poet Laureate. Their job is to compose music that will commemorate important events and ceremonies that happen surrounding the Queen during their time at the post.
To date, Queen Elizabeth II has appointed four different people to this role but has had a total of five different masters. The role traditionally has been appointed for life so when Queen Elizabeth II was coronated in 1952, her Master of Music was Sir Arnold Bax until his death in 1953.
From 1953 to 1975, Sir Arthur Bliss served as Her Majesty’s Master of Music and then Malcolm Williamson was appointed after Bliss’ death. Williamson held the role until his own death in 2003 and Queen Elizabeth II opted for a change to the almost 400-year-old tradition.
She decided to assign her next Master of Music to the role as a part of a contract. Sir Peter Maxwell Davies served a ten-year term as the Master of the Queen’s Music starting in 2004.
In 2014, Queen Elizabeth II broke tradition once again and appointed the very first female Master of the Queen’s music. The role was appointed to the composer Judith Weir.
Queen Elizabeth II’s Gold Grand Piano
Queen Elizabeth II still likes to play the piano to this day but she has been scrutinized for one of the pianos in her collection. In 2018, when Her Majesty gave her annual Christmas Day speech many viewers saw that there was a gold piano in the background.
Normally, this wouldn’t be an issue, however, Queen Elizabeth II’s speech was highlighting that people needed to come together in Britain and embrace each other’s differences not discriminate. Many took offense because, well, there’s a gold piano sitting right behind her.
The piano isn’t something that Queen Elizabeth II went out and bought though. It was commissioned by Queen Victoria in 1856 to be built by the famous company S & P Erard so now it is a family heirloom.