Daily Mail - Daily Mail Weekend Magazine
IT FELT LIKE BEING ROYAL FOR THE DAY!
Karen’s key singers recall their memories of the royal wedding – and how the choir has changed their lives
CLINTON JORDAN
The former session singer, 42, has been a backing artist for Tina Turner, Mariah Carey and Michael Bolton and now runs an agency for music teachers, as well as singing in the choir: ‘On the morning of 19 May, we were taken by coach from outside Buckingham Palace to Windsor. I couldn’t understand why there was no traffic holding us up, then I spotted the police outriders on their motorbikes who accompanied us all the way. I remember thinking, “This is what it must feel like to be royal.” And I tell you: it’s the only way to travel. We’d sung before at a number of high society weddings but this was something else. remember I looking out from our choir stall. There was Serena Williams, there was Oprah and George Clooney with Amal, famous people wherever you looked. Yet the feeling everywhere was so warm, so relaxed. It meant we weren’t overwhelmed by the occasion. We just wanted to make this lovely couple’s special day as memorable as possible.
‘For me, the most magical moment was when Meghan said,
“I do.” There was a roar from the crowd outside. It was as though the fairy tale was complete.’
ANDREA & JAMES FRANCIS
Andrea, 37, is a business development manager for a charity and a soprano in the choir: ‘I joined the group in 2015, and it came at just the right time in my life. I’d had health problems that resulted in an operation and the devastating news that it was highly unlikely I’d ever be able to have children. I’d known Karen since 2010 and she came to my rescue. I was trying to get back on my feet and music helped to heal me. I knew James already but Karen acted as Cupid.’ James, 32, is a session singer and an Uber driver: ‘Andrea and I first met at a concert in 2011; Karen introduced us. But I’d been living and working in America and was going back there. When I returned to the UK in 2012 I joined the choir and I gradually became attracted to Andrea. Then, one day, I said to myself, “She has to be mine.”’ Andrea: ‘We married in December 2016 then our little miracle came along. I thought I’d never know the joy of motherhood, then Jonas arrived in April. He’s six months old now, a happy and healthy baby. ‘He was only a matter of weeks old by the time of the royal wedding. I was emotional for all sorts of reasons so I didn’t find it hard to respond to two people who were so obviously in love with each other.’ James: ‘I remember at the wedding rubbing shoulders with Elton John and thinking how strange it was that I was the one who was going to be singing. Life hasn’t been quite the same since.’
STACEY SKEETE
A featured soprano in the choir, Stacey, 29, joined the group at 16, studied at the Brit School in the year below Adele, and has worked as a music teacher and backed Ed Sheeran on tour: ‘The choir has become central to my life. As a 14-year-old, I experienced sexual violence but I refuse to see myself as a victim. I’m a survivor and a lot of that is down to the choir, and Karen. She provided me with a nurturing lifeline. She gave me a safe place where I could become confident again.
‘So much has happened since the royal wedding and in such a short space of time. Someone recognised me in the street the other day. Unbelievable. You couldn’t write the script, could you?’