Why music is a royal hobby

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Music is all over the world. People can play it everywhere, from the smallest houses to the biggest royal palaces.  But this blog is about royal families in past and present. So, let's take a closer look to the royals who played amazing music themselves. 

Music was in the past an obligated part of the education of princesses and future queens. Although I found some dukes, princes and Kings who played music too. Enjoy this post!



piano at the royal palace in Brussels own picture taken in 2015



Nowadays Queen Máxima of The Netherlands and Queen Mathilde of Belgium are trying to promote more music and culture at school. It's their amazing mission.

In the past, Belgium has had some musical queens. The most famous without doubt is Queen Elisabeth of Belgium, who played the violin herself. A well-known music competition was called after her. On the picture you see her favourite violin. 




In The Netherlands it is known that Catharina Amalia, the current princess of  Orange loves to sing, just as her younger sister Princess Alexia. Her great-aunt Princess Christina - the sister of former Queen Beatrix - even moved to Canada to study Classical music and vocal training. Princess Christina sang on the funeral of her mother, Queen Juliana of the Netherlands. 

In France, Queen Marie-Antoinette was known as a good musician. Under the teaching of Christoph Willibald Gluck she learned to play the harp, harpsichord and the flute. Her mother, Holy Roman Empress Maria Theresa played music as well. 



Queen Marie-Antoinette playing an instrument
Source picture: Wikipedia


Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, the husband of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom also liked to play music. And in the United Kingdom there were more music lovers inter alia King George III and his wife Charlotte of Mecklenburg- Strelitz. They admired Georg Frederic Handel. 






Duke Maximilian Joseph in Bavaria, the grandfather of Queen Elisabeth of Belgium and the father of Empress Elisabeth of Austria (Sisi) played the zither and promoted Folk Music. King Ludwig II of Bavaria's real passions were architecture, art and  music. He was a great fan of Wagner. 


Maximilian Joseph in Bavaria
Source picture: Wikipedia



In the northern part of Europe, King Oscar II of Sweden was a distinguished writer and musical amateur himself. 

King Frederick IX of Denmark was a great lover of music, he used to play piano and he was a conductor.

Princess Märtha Louise of Norway took part in Oslo Gospel Choir's Christmas concert.

Pedro I of Brazil (King Pedro IV of Portugal) also was a good musician. Under the guidance of Marcos Portugal he became an able composer. He had a good singing voice and he could play some instruments such as: piano, flute and guitar.


Pedro I of Brazil
Source picture: Wikipedia


Why music is a royal hobby?


Many royals became patrons of music. The list would probably become to long to mention all of them. 
Nevertheless, music really can be called a royal hobby, due to the number of royals who were involved in it, in past and present. 



I took the pictures of the instruments at the Royal Palace in Brussels, Belgium
Location: Brussel, België

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