ABBA, show tunes and Cliff Richard: Queen Elizabeth II's favourite music. Cliff Richard, ABBA and Dame Vera Lynn... we revisit Queen Elizabeth II's favourite artists.
Below we look at ten of the Queen's favourite songs. Among them is “Sing”, which was co-written by Andrew Lloyd Webber and performed by Barlow and the Commonwealth Band featuring the Military Wives. There are also two hymns on the list: “The Lord is My Shepherd” and “Praise, My Soul, The King of Heaven”.
Queen Elizabeth II's support for classical music was generous, unwavering and all too easy to take for granted. Throughout her 70-year reign, Queen Elizabeth II was a generous patron of classical music and the arts.
Throughout her reign, The Queen had the privilege of meeting some of the greatest singers and songwriters of our time. From The Beatles and Cliff Richard and Queen to George Michael, Sir Tom Jones and Take That - the Queen had seen them all.
Her Majesty also met some of the world's most iconic people throughout areas of contemporary culture; from music and literature, to Hollywood A-Listers such as Angelina Jolie, The Beatles, Meryl Streep and Marilyn Monroe.
The choir sang Like as the Hart, a setting of Psalm 42 to music specially commissioned for the funeral. The music was written by British composer Judith Weir, who holds the title of Master of the King's Music — a role within the royal household in which she composes music at the monarch's request.
She was not only totally well informed about Hamburg's role in the Beatles' career, she also told us herself how much she liked their music.
The hymns that the Queen chose for her funeral are “The Day Thou Gavest, Lord, is Ended”, which is typically performed at Evensong, “The Lord's My Shepherd” and “Love Divine, All Loves Excelling”.
Bohemian Rhapsody has been named the most streamed song from the 20th century, overtaking Smells Like Teen Spirit by Nirvana. The Queen hit, which reached No 1 in the UK in 1975 and then again in 1991 following Freddie Mercury's death, has now been streamed 1.6bn times across services including YouTube and Spotify.
Appearing on Yahoo Movies, Blessed said that Her Majesty told him her favourite movie was pulpy sci-fi classic Flash Gordon.
Their 1975 single, "Bohemian Rhapsody", was No. 1 in the UK charts for nine weeks (and a further five weeks in 1991 after Mercury's death) and is the third-biggest-selling single of all time in the UK. In the US, "Bohemian Rhapsody" hit the Billboard Top 40 charts in three different decades, reaching No.
Enter Angela Kelly ‒ the queen's most loyal aide for the past three decades. She's also known as her hairdresser, dresser and “best friend”, as claimed by various media.
Out of all of the kids, Prince Edward, now known as the Earl of Wessex, is believed to be the Queen and Prince Philip's favorite child. In fact, it was reported that Edward's portrait was the only one in Philip's study.
Queen guitarist Brian May is unashamed to admit they were influenced by the band and revealed that one of their songs did sound similar to another Led Zeppelin track. In an interview with Total Guitar, Brian May recalled the first time he and Queen listened to Led Zeppelin.
McCartney considers himself a lifelong fan and friend of Britain's longest-reigning monarch, having met her at least nine times. His public ties to the monarch date back to when he was just 10 years old after he won a school essay contest ahead of the monarch's coronation in June 1953.
Over the course of his career, McCartney, who wrote the Beatles' “Her Majesty” for the monarch, estimates he met Queen Elizabeth II “eight or nine times,” and “each time she impressed me with her great sense of humor combined with great dignity.”
Maj Burns, the Queen's piper, played a traditional piece on the bagpipes at the Queen's state funeral. He played a rendition of the piece 'Sleep, Dearie, Sleep' in closing Her Majesty's service.
The choir and congregation also sang 'The day Thou Gavest, Lord, is Ended' by was written by Reverend John Ellerton in 1870, and it is set to the tune St Clement, believed to have been composed by Reverend Clement Cotteril Scholefield.
Sir Elton John, JK Rowling and Paddington Bear are amongst the famous British faces paying tribute to Queen Elizabeth II and her “inspiring presence” following her death.
Among the grieving Brits, who have until Monday 19 to witness Her Majesty lying in state, were the likes of David Beckham and Holly Willoughby to Phillip Schofield, Susanna Reid, Tilda Swinton and James Blunt. The former footballer David Beckham, 47, donned a flat cap and black suit for the sombre occasion.