King Charles III is unveiling a personal playlist featuring music that lifts his spirits and brings back cherished memories, with selections ranging from Bob Marley and Kylie Minogue to Grace Jones.
As part of a new project titled The King’s Music Room, launched in partnership with Apple Music, the monarch aims to highlight the unifying power of music, particularly from Commonwealth nations.
Photographed at Buckingham Palace with an “on air” sign on his desk, King Charles was seen fully embracing his role as the royal DJ.
A teaser video for the project features the changing of the guard playing Bob Marley’s Could You Be Loved, setting the tone for a celebration of diverse musical influences.
“Throughout my life, music has meant a great deal to me,” the King says in the launch video.
“It has that remarkable ability to bring happy memories flooding back from the deepest recesses of our memory, to comfort us in times of sadness, and to take us to distant places.
But perhaps, above all, it can lift our spirits to such a degree, and all the more so when it brings us together in celebration.”
The full playlist, along with royal commentary, will be revealed on Monday in honor of Commonwealth Day.
In addition to reggae and dance music, the selection is expected to include Nigerian-American singer Davido and British artist Raye, whom the King saw perform at a Christmas market at Battersea Power Station.
Spanning genres from 1930s crooners to contemporary Afrobeat, the collection will reflect the King’s lifelong appreciation for music and his personal connections to the artists.
“This seemed such an interesting and innovative way to celebrate this year’s Commonwealth Day,” he said, hinting that the playlist will include anecdotes about the musicians and why their songs resonate with him.
The King has long admired Bob Marley’s legacy, even visiting the reggae legend’s former home in Jamaica, now a museum.
With the sounds of Could You Be Loved filling the air outside the palace, Marley’s lyrics rang out: “Don’t let them change ya, oh! Or even rearrange ya!”—a fitting tribute to the power of music in shaping history and personal identity.
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