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What music did the Queen listen to? Monarch’s top 10 songs from Gary Barlow to Fred Astaire

Royal’s cousin described the monarch in 2016 as a ‘fantastic dancer’ with ‘great rhythm’

Isobel Lewis
Tuesday 20 September 2022 10:09 BST
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BBC One interrupts programming to give update on Queen's health

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Royal fans are remembering Queen Elizabeth II’s musical taste following her death at 96.

Tributes have been pouring in from around the world after Her Majesty passed away in Balmoral on Thursday.

Queen Elizabeth andmusician Gary Barlow on stage during the Diamond Jubilee concert at Buckingham Palace on June 4, 2012
Queen Elizabeth andmusician Gary Barlow on stage during the Diamond Jubilee concert at Buckingham Palace on June 4, 2012 (Getty Images)

The days after her death have seen well-wishers look at some of the things in life that brought her great joy - and music was among them.

The Queen was a big musical theatre fan and, perhaps surprisingly, she even enjoyed some Gary Barlow.

In 2016, the Queen’s cousin Lady Elizabeth Anson said that the monarch was “a fantastic dancer” with “great rhythm”.

The Queen with Andrew Lloyd Webber and Gary Barlow backstage at the Diamond Jubilee concert in 2012
The Queen with Andrew Lloyd Webber and Gary Barlow backstage at the Diamond Jubilee concert in 2012 (Getty Images)

Speaking on BBC Radio documentary Our Queen: 90 Musical Years, she explained: “The Queen loves the theatre and musicals like Showboat, Oklahoma! and Annie Get Your Gun.

“These were the tunes that remained in one’s head and were very danceable to.”

Others told the documentary that her taste was “mainstream”, with “no airs and graces”.

Fred Astaire was among the Queen’s favourite musicians
Fred Astaire was among the Queen’s favourite musicians (Getty Images)

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”.

The Queen’s favourite songs:

1.“Oklahoma!” by Howard Keel

2.“Anything You Can Do” from Annie Get Your Gun by Dolores Gray and Bill Johnson

3.“Sing” by Gary Barlow and the Commonwealth Band featuring the Military Wives

4.“Cheek to Cheek” by Fred Astaire

5.“The White Cliffs Of Dover” by Vera Lynn

6.“Leaning on a Lamp-post” by George Formby

7.“Praise, My Soul, The King of Heaven” (hymn)

8.“The Lord is My Shepherd” (hymn)

9.“Lester Lanin Medley”

10.“Regimental March Milanollo”

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