The most surprising tracks from King Charles’ Commonwealth Day playlist

The King has praised Beyonce, calling her "exceptional" and congratulating the singer on her first album of the year Grammy during his online radio show. The US superstar's biggest hit Crazy In Love was featured during the King's Music Room programme, alongside Diana Ross's Upside Down, with Charles admitting it was "absolutely impossible" not to dance to the former Motown singer's track in his younger days.

Charles took on the role of a one-time disc jockey for the online radio show after being "surprised and delighted" by an invitation from Apple Music to showcase 17 of his favourite songs by artists such as Jools Holland, Michael Bublé and Dame Kiri Takanawa in celebration of Commonwealth Day. He also paid tribute to his grandmother, the Queen Mother, playing one of her favourites, Al Bowlly singing The Very Thought of You from the 1930s and expressed how music from that era "never fails to lift my spirits".

"This was an era of songs made memorable by brilliant lyrics, incredible bands and unstoppable rhythm," Charles commented. Beyonce, who is set to bring her Cowboy Carter tour to London this June, performed Crazy in Love at the Prince's Trust Fashion Rocks concert in 2003, the year the single was released.

Charles described her as: "...a performer so exceptional that I just could not resist including her music" and said she was featured to highlight an "iconic musical moment from the many events which have supported my Trust's work for young people over all these years."

During his introduction to the track, he said: "Therefore here is one of the Trust's most faithful supporters, the incomparable Beyonce with the song Crazy in Love. And incidentally, I would like to congratulate her for winning her first Album of the Year Grammy."

He highlighted Beyonce's perseverance after not clinching the award with previous albums, noting she mentioned it had been "many, many years" in her speech at the Grammys following her miss for albums such as 2008's I Am... Sasha Fierce, 2013's Beyonce, 2016's Lemonade, and 2022's Renaissance before her victory with Cowboy Carter.

The King also acknowledged the legendary Reggae musician Bob Marley’s societal contributions beyond his music. He said: "Bob Marley would have been 80 this year. I remember when he came to London to perform when I was much younger, and I met him at some event, that marvellous, infectious energy of course he had, but also his deep sincerity and his profound concern for his community."

Towards the end of the broadcast, which came from Buckingham Palace, Charles was quoted expressing how Marley affected people worldwide: "I always recall his words that people have a voice inside them. He gave the world that voice in a way that no one who heard could ever forget."

As the King introduced Kylie Minogue's song Locomotion, he labelled the tune "music for dancing", praising its "again, it has that infectious energy which makes it, I find, incredibly hard to sit still".

Like a seasoned DJ, Charles introduced each song, sharing his musings before playing the "superb" rendition of La Vie En Rose by Grace Jones, originally made famous by French chanteuse Edith Piaf. His introduction to the tune was: "It can be easy to take a rosy view of the past, it is not so easy to take a rosy view of everything unless, of course, as this next song shows you, are in love."

The playlist continued with the 1964 sensation My Boy Lollipop by Millie Small post Bob Marley, and Charles noted: "Staying with the Caribbean, I'm always mindful how much we owe to the Windrush Generation, whose gifts have so greatly enriched our country, and what an unexpected gift was the extraordinary voice of Jamaican-born Millie Small..."

Also included in Charles's selection, favouring Commonwealth musicians, were performances like Dame Kiri Te Kanawa's E Te Iwi E (Call to the People), Michael Buble's toe-tapper Haven't Met You Yet, the sitar-infused Indian Summer by Anoushka Shankar, daughter of the legendary Ravi Shankar, Arrow’s carnival hit Hot Hot Hot, and Jools Holland & Ruby Turner’s My Country Man.

Ending on a high note, the final song he aired was Diana Ross's Upside Down, prompting Charles to share with listeners: "...when I was much younger, it was absolutely impossible not to get up and dance when it was played. So I wonder if I can still just manage it."

Both Royal and music fans have been reacting to the playlist online. Some were pleasantly surprised to see a popular Afrobeats song included, Kante by Davido ft Fave. One X user said: "Massive win for Davido and Afrobeats! Naija to the world! Music truly transcends borders!" Another X user said: "FAVE is seriously underrated, that's what's up. King Charles got good taste, I ain't gonna lie."

You can catch The King's Music Room on Apple Music 1 or stream it anytime with an Apple Music subscription.

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