Music in the Royal Collection
Many members of the royal family were talented musicians
Throughout the centuries, many members of the royal family have had very personal relationships with music. Often, they were not satisfied to be mere patrons of leading composers and musicians of the day, but were keen musicians themselves.
Click on a chapter to explore what musical instruments, paintings, drawings, sculptures, furniture, and archival material in the Royal Collection can tell us about music and the monarchy, or view these short films on selected instruments in the Collection:
See a selection of instruments being played
The Erard Piano
Howard Shelley OBE plays the piano
The Erard Piano at the BBC Proms
Steven Hough plays the Erard piano at the BBC Proms in 2019
The Lincoln Organ
Martyn Noble from the Chapel Royal introduces this piece
Burkat Shudi Harpsichord
Laurence Cummings plays this Harpsichord from Kew Palace
Dragonetti's Basse de Violon
Chi-chi Nwanoku plays in the Music Room at Buckingham Palace
