Prince Harry, a pop star? It’s true – and all for his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth.
The prince taps a tambourine – and, in the video (view below), can be seen shaking a leg – as part of a new song especially created to mark the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and her commitment to the Commonwealth.
Called “Sing,” the new anthem is the brainchild of singer Gary Barlow and Phantom of the Opera and Cats composer Andrew Lloyd Webber.
Barlow, who is lead vocalist of the pop group Take That and the head judge on the U.K. version of The X Factor, went around the world capturing the music and musicians of the Commonwealth. His talent haul includes an African children’s choir, New Zealand soprano Hayley Westenra and reggae greats Sly and Robbie.
During the tour, Barlow found himself in Jamaica at the same time Harry, 27, was also there on a visit in March.
“We turned up and I asked him would he play on the record and he said, ‘I don’t sing’. But I said, ‘No, no – I don’t want you to sing, I want you to play the tambourine’. And so he said, ‘It’ll cost you,'” Barlow told the U.K. Press Association.
“Then we met him later on that night and he did the tambourine hit and we spun it into the track. He probably hasn’t got a clue what he’s part of just yet.”
The song will be released May 28. Fans can now download the sheet music for piano and vocal arrangement via the Stage a Musical website.
Lloyd Webber and Barlow hope schools, amateur choirs and those hosting street parties will learn the song so they can sing it as part of the celebrations in June. According to the website, “‘Sing’ will be performed at the star-studded concert being held outside Buckingham Palace” on June 4.
