Prince William describes 'best tonic' for bleary-eyed early mornings - and it's unusual

Prince William's perfect remedy for bleary-eyed mornings is to listen to rock music with 'a lot of hip movements going along' - and he gets the children involved too

The Royals don't just listen to classical music and wake to the sound of bagpipes like we might assume - as it turns out the Prince and Princess of Wales like to kick off their week with rock music.

In the Time To Walk series on Apple Fitness, Prince William revealed he loves rocking out to Thunderstruck by AC/DC - an Australian rock band formed by Scottish-born brothers Angus and Malcolm Young. The prince also revealed his three children love to dance along to Colombian popstar Shakira.

He said: “There’s nothing better than, on a Monday morning, when you’re a bit bleary-eyed after the weekend, listening to AC/DC, Thunderstruck. I have to say the first time I put it on, I was kind of like, ‘Well, this is heavy for a Monday morning’, but now, when I listen to it, it’s the best tonic.

“It wakes you up, puts your week in the best mood possible, and you feel like you can take on anything. One of the songs that the children are loving at the moment is Shakira, ‘Waka Waka’. There’s a lot of hip movements going along. Charlotte, particularly, is running around the kitchen in her ballet stuff, with Louis following her around trying to do the same thing. It’s a really happy moment where the children just enjoy dancing and singing.”

And it appears as though music has always been an important part of the Royals' lives - as Kate Middleton revealed it helped her get through tough times during the Coronavirus pandemic back in 2021. The Duchess of Cambridge revealed how she listened to music to get help her through a “bleak time” as the UK found itself in and out of lockdowns.

In an introduction for her Westminster Abbey carol concert, 'Royal Carols - Together At Christmas' Kate also said she had been buoyed by the “acts of kindness” shown by people all over the country during the crisis. The future queen said she believed it proved “love can really bring us comfort and relief in times of distress”.

The duchess said: “Music was so important to me during the pandemic as I think it was to so many people too. But above all it’s about celebrating the goodwill, the acts of kindness, love, empathy, and compassion to help people come through these difficult times.”

A huge fan of singing superstars Ellie Goulding and Leona Lewis, Kate asked them to perform at the concert on ITV on Christmas Eve at 7.30pm, with TV host Kate Garraway also doing a reading.