Whenever our favourite royals step out, they’re usually shaking hands with dignitaries or making small talk with well-wishers. But that’s not the extent of their talents by any means.
In fact, some of them have some interesting skills under their belts ranging from their artwork to Olympic athleticism. Don’t believe us? Take a look at these royal family members and their hidden talents that may leave you flabbergasted.
Meghan, Duchess of Sussex
Before marrying Harry, the Duchess of Sussex worked as a calligraphy instructor at Paper Source, a Beverly Hills paper and gift retailer from 2004 until 2005.
“It was her part-time job as she was going through auditions,” Paper Source CEO, Winnie Park, told PEOPLE magazine. “She taught calligraphy and hosted a group of customers and instructed them during a two-hour class on how to do calligraphy.”
Meghan also worked as a freelance calligrapher and even wrote the invitations for Robin Thicke and Paula Patton’s 2005 wedding.
Check out her cursive script below.
The Duchess of Sussex is also a bit of a whizz in the kitchen and was a foodie long before she met her Prince Charming.
On her now defunct lifestyle blog The Tig, the former Suits star loved to share recipes and food reviews and told Marie Claire that she’s “always on the quest to find amazing new restaurants and new recipes.”
Her first solo royal venture was to launch cook book Together: Our Community Cookbook with the women of the Hubb Community Kitchen, a collective formed following the 2017 Grenfell Tower fire in London.
And let’s not forget that she’s also the “Avocado Toast Whisperer” according to her make-up artist pal Daniel Martin!
Duchess Meghan knows her way around the kitchen.
(Image: Twitter @kensingtonroyal)Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge
Our future queen has quite the passion for art.
Not only did the Duchess of Cambridge study art for her final high school exams as well as History of Art at St Andrew’s University, but it’s also a big part of her royal duties as patron of the National Portrait Gallery and an honorary member of the Royal Photographic Society.
And whenever a new photo of her adorable children is released by Kensington Palace, you can bet that Kate was behind the camera.
Hi Kate, feel free to take our picture too!
(Image: Getty Images)Prince William’s leading lady is also an accomplished athlete and has shown off her skills in sports ranging from rowing to running ever since her school days.
She’s also the Royal Patron of several sport-related institutions: SportsAid, The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, The Lawn Tennis Association, and The 1851 Trust. Anyone else hoping we can see her take on Serena Williams one day?
Tennis lover Kate knows her way around a racket!
(Image: Instagram @kensingtonroyal)If that wasn’t enough, the Duchess of Cambridge also has skills when it comes to music!
At her Royal Carols: Together at Christmas service at Westminster Abbey in 2021, the royal stunned fans when she accompanied singer Tom Walker on piano for his song For Those Who Can’t Be Here.
“It’s not easy to just jump behind a piano with a bunch of musicians you’ve never played with before and record live takes to camera, but she completely nailed it,” Tom confessed.
Kate learned to play as a child and her former piano instructor Daniel Nicholls told the Evening Standard that she was “absolutely lovely, a really delightful person to teach the piano”.
A piano player too!
(Image: Instagram @dukeandduchessofcambridge)Prince William, Duke of Cambridge
Rock on Your Highness!
Back in 2015, Prince William was presenting Brinsley Forde, frontman of reggae group Aswad with an MBE when he admitted he can play the bass guitar.
“He said ‘I’m a bit good on the bass guitar’ so I’m thinking of signing him up, but he’s got such a lot of other duties I don’t know whether he’ll have time to do it,” the musician joked.
Fingers crossed we get invited to a jam sesh at Kensington Palace sometime.
Prince William is apparently “a bit good” on the bass guitar.
(Image: Getty Images)Princess Beatrice of York
She may not be a senior member of the royal family, but Princess Beatrice could probably beat you in a race any day of the week.
The 10th in line to the throne was the first ever royal to compete in the London Marathon and since then has raced for a range of charities.
In September 2016, Beatrice also made a royal first when she became the first British royal to participate in a triathlon. The eldest daughter of Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson raced 3,300 metres, biked 140km, ran half a marathon and hiked Italy’s Mount Etna to raise money for the Big Change charity which she founded with Sir Richard Branson’s children, Sam and Holly, to help young people with dyslexia.
On your marks, get set, go!
(Image: Getty Images)The Queen
Behind the prim and proper exterior, 95 year-old Queen Elizabeth has one helluva sense of humour.
“I think the Queen is the comedian. She’s a wonderful mimic,” royal biographer Ingrid Seward said on British panel show Loose Women.
“She can do Liverpool, she does Liverpool very, very well,” Seward said.
On another occasion at an informal dinner in Kentucky, America, the Queen was challenged by her old friend William Farish to mimic one lady’s Deep Southern accent.
“Give me until the end of dinner and I’ll have a go,” she reportedly said. And when she did, apparently it was word-perfect.
We’d love to hear the Queen in action, wonder how good her Aussie accent is…
(Image: Getty Images)Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
Prince Philip was by the Queen’s side for many years but he also had some talents of his own, notably growing truffles. In fact he was the first person to coax black truffles from British soil with not even trained truffle dogs being able to find them. Random, right?
According to The Times, the Duke of Edinburgh had been gardening these elusive plants since 2006 and produced the rare and highly sought after French Perigord black truffle that are worth a whopping £200 (roughly AUD 368) per 100g.
Wonder if he ever gave some to Megs to help with her cooking?
Prince Philip was the truffle mastermind of the royal family.
(Image: Getty Images)Prince Charles, Prince of Wales
Now this is one we didn’t see coming…turns out the heir to the throne is a bit of a magician!
In 1975, Prince Charles became a member of the Magic Circle, a British society dedicated to the magical arts, and reportedly passed his audition with the ancient ‘cup and balls’ trick. We bet he keeps his grandchildren entertained non-stop.
Apart from that, the Queen’s eldest son has an artistic flair as well and is skilled in the watercolour painting department. Nice one Chuckles!
WATCH: Prince Charles as a doting grandfather. Post continues after video…
Zara Tindall
Like her mother Princess Anne and her grandmother the Queen, Zara Tindall is another skilled equestrian in the royal family.
Ok so it’s not exactly hidden as she won a silver medal at the London 2012 Olympics as a member of the Great Britain Eventing Team, but it’s still a skill.
Watch Zara in action in the player below!
Diana, Princess of Wales
The late Princess Diana was reportedly not one for academia, but like her daughter-in-law Kate, she was quite the athlete, especially in the water.
During her school days, the young Diana was netball captain and an accomplished tennis player, but she also won swimming and diving cups four years running.
In his biography Diana: Her True Story in Her Own Words, Andrew Morton says, “Her ‘Spencer Special’ where she dived into the pool barely leaving a ripple, always attracted an audience.”
Diana was quite the water baby.
(Images: Getty Images)Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York
She may not be an official member of The Fold any more, but Fergie’s secret talent is writing.
Her picture book Tea For Ruby, about a young girl practising manners in time for tea with the Queen topped the US Bestsellers List and she also sold the rights to Little Red, another children’s series about a red-headed girl.
She’s also penned various books for adults including her memoir What I Know Now and Moments, a collection of her personal photographs in aid of children in crisis.
Could Fergie be the next J.K Rowling?
(Image: Getty Images)Prince George of Cambridge
At eight-years-old, Prince George is one of the youngest royals but he’s already begun to show off his creative side.
When the Cambridge family attended the polo back in 2018, eagle-eyed fans noticed George holding onto a very vivid drawing of a volcano exploding in a forest, framed by trees and a big, beaming sun.
Looks like he takes after his artistic mum.
Prince George showed off his artwork at the polo in 2018.
(Image: Getty Images)
That’s better than anything we could draw!
(Image: Getty Images)
