Royal Ukes?

BY WILL GROVE-WHITE | FROM THE WINTER 2025 ISSUE OF UKULELE MAGAZINE

British kings and queens are traditionally associated with pomp and ceremony, elaborate fur-lined outfits,and troops of eccentrically-hatted soldiers following them everywhere. But it turns out that their secret desires lie in far more humble pursuits. I’m talking, of course, about the noble little ukulele. 

In 2016 the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain (including me) was asked to perform at a private 90th birthday party for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, hosted by the then-Prince Charles (now the King). This was indeed by royal request, the Queen herself being a fan of the ukulele and, we can only presume, of the Orchestra. We were to perform as part of an after-dinner cabaret show for her close friends and family at Windsor Castle. 

When the day came, we donned our smartest bibs and tuckers and entered Windsor Castle. Before the performance we were advised, “Whatever you do, don’t gawp!” Apparently some performers find themselves so dumbstruck by all the famous faces that they just sit there, slack-jawed. I can understand why—every British royal I could think of was there in the large, opulent dining hall. We quickly regained our composure and strummed and plucked our way through a quickfire version of “Limehouse Blues” and a Cossack interpretation of George Formby’s “Leaning on a Lamppost.” I’m glad to say we were very well received. After the show we met everyone and were struck by how friendly they were. This was far from the formality we’d been expecting. They were all ukulele fans by the end of the night. 

But some of the royal family didn’t need to be converted to the ukulele. As I mentioned, Queen Elizabeth herself was already rumored to be a ukulele fancier and a fan of British entertainer and ukulele banjoist George Formby. She told us as much when we met her, saying she’d seen Formby play more than once. She was
obviously of refined enough taste to comprehend the inherent nobility of the ukulele. 

Deborah Bean, Queen Elizabeth’s long-serving correspondence secretary, said in a 2003 interview with journalist Gyles Brandreth, “The Queen doesn’t express views as such, but she will sometimes put a comment on the envelope. When the George Formby Society wrote asking if the Queen remembered their hero, she replied, ‘I still remember all his songs and sing them!’” So it seems the Queen was, on rare occasions, willing to break royal convention and express her personal feelings to the public, but only when it came to the ukulele. 

Jake Shimabukuro will back me up. When he played at the Blackpool Opera House, where the Queen was in attendance, he got to meet her after the show. He told Hawaii News Now in a 2022 remembrance that he was extremely nervous, but Queen Elizabeth put him at ease: “She kept commenting on the ukulele, saying that the ukulele has such a beautiful sound. I’ll never forget that.” And this should come as no surprise because Elizabeth’s grandmother, Queen Mary, was a huge George Formby fan (particularly of his risqué song “When I’m Cleaning Windows”). 

But Queens Elizabeth and Mary aren’t the only British royals to have had a ukulele fascination. In the 1920s, none other than Alvin Keech, the American who patented the banjulele, gave Edward, Prince of Wales, weekly banjulele lessons.
Prince Edward later became King Edward VIII until he scandalously abdicated and eloped with American socialite Wallis Simpson. Unfortunately we can only speculate as to what role the banjulele played in this controversial story (although Edward also liked to play bagpipes, so maybe they can take the blame).

Perhaps royalty is built into the ukulele’s very DNA: without the early enthusiasm for the instrument from Hawaii’s King David Kalakaua and Queen Lili’oukalani, who knows if the humble ukulele would ever have achieved such worldly renown? Either way, it’s heartening to know that so many high-ranking royals have embraced the ukulele, proving that whether you’re the Queen of England or a blue-collar street sweeper, the ukulele has a universal appeal. 

So what for the future? In my research for this article it’s been hard to find a current royal who enjoys a pluck, but I did find out that a few years ago Kate Middleton (now Catherine, Princess of Wales) visited a school in South London and took part in a children’s ukulele lesson. Dr. John Ivens, the headmaster, told Hello magazine in 2015: “One of the boys managed to teach the Duchess a couple of chords on the ukulele . . . she kept up with them,” and, he joked, “there’s a career there!” Clearly she has a knack for the uke, so perhaps it’s time for the next generation of British royals to change their priorities: Put down the scepters and pick up the ukuleles!

Will Grove-White is an ex-Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain plucker, now a luthier making “wonky” ukuleles. willgrovewhite.com