In December 2021, Prince William took the audience of Apple’s Time to Walk series on a journey through Sandringham Estate, one of the royal residences of his father, King Charles.
Sharing memories while he walked through the grounds, William then spoke of his favorite songs that trigger fond moments from his childhood to his present.
One of those special childhood memories is of his mother, Princess Diana, and the song she played for him and Prince Harry to ease their back-to-school jitters.
That song is the late Tina Turner’s The Best, a song he still enjoys to keep his mother’s memory alive.
“When I was younger, Harry and I, we were at boarding school. My mother used to play all sorts of songs to kind of while away the anxiety of going back to school,” Prince William said.
“And one of the songs I massively remember and has stuck with me all this time, and I still, to this day, still quite enjoy secretly, is Tina Turner’s ‘The Best’ because sitting in the backseat, singing away, it felt like a real family moment.”
And Princess Diana, heading the chorus, would sing along.
“And my mother, she’d be driving along, singing at the top of her voice. And we’d even get the policeman in the car, he’d be occasionally singing along, as well,” William said.
The future king added: “You’d be singing and listening to the music right the way out into the gates of school, when they dropped you off. And, and that’s when reality kind of sunk in that you really were going back to school because before that, you’re lost in songs. You’ll want to play it again just to keep that family moment going.”
“When I listen to it now, it takes me back to those car rides and brings back lots of memories of my mother.”
Children’s choice
Taking those precious memories and applying it to his own parenting style, William shares that he now creates special music moments with his own children, Prince George, 10, eight-year-old Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis, who turns six on April 23.
“Most mornings there’s a massive fight between Charlotte and George as to what song is played in the morning. And I have to, now, basically prioritize that one day someone does this one, and another day it’s someone else’s turn,” said the royal. “So George gets his go, then Charlotte gets her go. Such is the clamor for the music.”
The Prince added that one of the songs his children were loving at the time was Shakira’s ‘Waka Waka‘.
‘Best tonic for a Monday morning’
For his third song, William selected AC/DC’s ‘Thunderstruck‘, saying that it’s a great song to get you moving.
He shared: “There’s nothing better than, on a Monday morning, when you’re a bit bleary-eyed after the weekend and trying to get yourself back into the grind of the week, listening to AC/DC, ‘Thunderstruck.’”
William continued: “I have to say the first time I put it on, and I’ve heard it a million times now, I was kind of like, ‘Well, this is quite heavy for a Monday morning.’ But now, when I listen to it, it’s the best tonic for a Monday morning.”
“It absolutely wakes you up, puts your week in the best mood possible, and you feel like you can take on anything and anyone.
“I’d imagine you’re going to walk quite fast listening to it, maybe with a skip in your step, with the head-banging. It’s a difficult song not to dance to or to nod along to.”
