‘Meghan in Disguise’ Composer Celebrates 1,000 Weeks on Classic Charts

The composer who has been the subject of wild speculation that the Duchess of Sussex snuck into the King’s coronation is celebrating 1,000 weeks on the classical charts.

Sir Karl Jenkins, whose ‘haunting’ work Tros y Garreg was played at the ceremony, grabbed viewers’ attention earlier this month with his signature look.

But days after the event, the 79-year-old confirmed he wasn’t in fact Meghan in a big white wig and glasses, or a thief in disguise trying to steal the crown jewels.

Sir Karl, who is perhaps best known for composing the song Adeimus, told viewers that he has had his distinguished mustache since he was 18.

He broke chart records today by spending over 1000 weeks on the UK Official Classical Artist Albums Chart with his work The Armed Man.

Sir Karl was comically accused of being the Duchess of Sussex in disguise at the King’s coronation

Also known as the ‘Mass for Peace’, the piece, commissioned in 1999 by the Royal Armories to mark the Millennium, is an oratorio based on the 15th-century French poem ‘L’homme armé’.

The world premiere of The Armed Man took place in the year 2000 at the Royal Albert Hall in London, conducted by Sir Karl himself, with The National Youth Choir of Great Britain with Julian Lloyd Webber as cello soloist.

It has since received nearly 3,000 performances around the world, including a performance at New York’s Lincoln Center on the 10th anniversary of 9/11, again conducted by Sir Karl.

The studio recording, featuring the London Philharmonic Orchestra and the National Youth Choir of Great Britain, was originally released in September 2001.

The work has since been regularly featured in the ‘Classic FM Hall of Fame’, having just achieved its highest ever ranking of No. 5. Karl Jenkins becomes the highest living composer in this year’s poll.

Sir Karl Jenkins says: ‘When I wrote The Armed Man: a Mass for Peace in 1999, I couldn’t have imagined that by 2023 we would be celebrating 1,000 weeks in the UK classical charts and nearly 3,000 performances worldwide.

“I am very honored that it has touched so many people over the years; thanks to The Royal Armories and Classic FM who commissioned me to write it, and to all those who performed it and listened to my recording.

“I am sorry to say that war and conflict have not ceased since I dedicated the piece to the victims of Kosovo, but we continue to make music in memory of those who lost their lives and in the hope that humanity will find a way to heal. ‘

Composer Sir Karl Jenkins, 79, took to TikTok to tell Coronation viewers that he wasn’t Meghan Markle in disguise and that he’s had his mustache since he was 18

Sir Karl told viewers how he wore his mustache since he was 18, and that it was “trendy” then (Photo: A younger Sir Karl)

Sir Karl’s work Tros Y Garreg, an arrangement of a Welsh folk song from his harp concerto Over the Stone, was performed as part of the music program leading up to the coronation service, with official Royal Harpist Alis Huws as soloist.

The work was commissioned by His Majesty then Prince of Wales, and its inclusion was a recognition of the King’s long and deep-rooted relationship and connection with Wales.

‘I am very honored. It clearly encapsulates Welsh culture – the harp – and him [the King] has always supported music from Wales,” said Sir Karl.

“I don’t know if he chose it, but he was happy to be there. I know he likes it, otherwise he wouldn’t have asked me.’

After the service, royal fans also joked about the misunderstanding online, saying it was “Tilda Swinton deep in character” or “Wait until the polyjuice [a transforming potion from Harry Potter] wear’.

Many agreed that the off-the-cuff remark was one of the best jokes of the day, when King Charles III and his wife, Queen Camilla, crowed at Westminster Abbey.

Sir Karl said: ‘I was quite surprised that some people thought I was Meghan Markle in disguise. Someone wrote that I was there, whoever I was, to steal the crown jewels.’

Sir Karl chuckles and adds, ‘I always look like this and besides this around my neck, which is what you get when you’re knighted – this was around my neck where my tie and jacket came over.

The 79-year-old’s work Tros y Garreg was played at the ceremony (pictured in 2015 as he received his knighthood)

‘Oh and my mustache has also been mentioned in The Times – but I’ve had the mustache since I was 18 years old. Then it was very trendy. So that’s me. Nothing sinister or surprising.’

Sir Karl studied music at Cardiff University and the Royal Academy of Music, where he is a Fellow and Associate. He became the lead songwriter for the jazz rock bank Soft Machine in 1974, having joined the band two years earlier.

He collaborated with Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber on Jesus Christ Superstar and with Elton John on Tumbleweed Connection, released in 1970.

In 2008, Jenkins’ The Armed Nab was number 1 on Classic FM’s ‘Top 10 Living Composers’.

He received an OBE in the 2005 New Year Honors and a CBE in 2010, before being knighted in 2015.