Prince William said that he and his brother would listen to Tina Turner’s “The Best” on back-to-school drives, with Princess Diana taking center stage.
William, the future king, normalized the monarchy by sharing fond recollections of his mother, attempting to alleviate the boys’ fear about returning to boarding school.
“It felt like a real family moment. And my mother, she’d be driving along, singing at the top of her voice,” he explained. Continue reading to hear more about the future king’s favorite songs and his preferred “tonic for a Monday morning.”
In December 2021, Prince William led the audience of Apple’s Time to Walk series on a tour of Sandringham Estate, one of his father, King Charles’s royal homes.
William shared memories as he went over the grounds, then discussed his favorite tunes that bring back good memories from his boyhood to the present.
One of his most treasured childhood memories is of his mother, Princess Diana, and the music she played for him and Prince Harry to calm their nerves about starting school.
That song is The Best by the late Tina Turner, which he still listens to to honor his mother’s memory.
“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, who leads 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 cherished memories and applying them to his own parenting approach, William reveals that he now makes special music moments with his own children, Prince George, 10, Princess Charlotte, 8, 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 also mentioned that one of his children’s favorite songs at the time was Shakira’s ‘Waka Waka’.
‘Best tonic for a Monday morning’
William chose AC/DC’s ‘Thunderstruck’ as his third song, describing it as a terrific tune 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.”
