TikTok star encourages princess to play the organ

Anna Lapwood was made an MBE for services to music in the New Year

A TikTok star said she told the Princess Royal she should play the organ at Windsor Castle.

Organist and conductor Anna Lapwood was made an MBE for services to music in the New Year.

She has been dubbed the "TikTok organist" after videos of her playing attracted 25 million likes.

Ms Lapwood said she encouraged Princess Anne to play the castle's organ at an investiture at Windsor.

'Public recognition'

Ms Lapwood, who is director of music at Pembroke College, Cambridge, and established a girls' choir at the college, said she asked the princess if she had ever played the organ and the royal responded, "No, I haven't, I think it's a bit late".

"I was like 'Oh, I think you can, I think you could do it, you should do it'," Ms Lapwood said.

She added that they talked about the importance of making women feel comfortable in music and about "how important it is to give them a space", particularly with previously male-dominated worlds, "like the organ world".

Ms Lapwood also said that being made an MBE was also a moment of "public recognition" for the organ.

"I feel like the organ is one of those instruments that can get pushed to one side, but then, actually, no this has been publicly recognised," she said.

"As a woman in music, and a young woman in music, there can be this thing the whole time where you feel as if, 'Am I doing things right?'.

"And it feels like this little moment of saying, you have done something right, which might sound minor but actually feels like a huge privilege."