Hymn commissioned by King to be performed for first time on Songs of Praise

Crathie, named after the Royal family’s beloved tiny chapel at Balmoral, will be broadcast on the second anniversary of Elizabeth II’s death

A new tune for a hymn commissioned by the King in honour of the Royal family’s beloved tiny chapel at Balmoral will be broadcast for the first time on Sunday, the second anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II’s death.
The piece, Crathie, is named after Crathie Kirk, where the late Queen was a valued member of the congregation for seven decades.
It was composed by Prof Paul Mealor and set to the words of traditional hymn Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing.
The hymn will be performed publicly for the first time on the BBC’s Songs of Praise, during a special episode about the church; Crathie Kirk – Mountains and Majesty.
Prof Mealor, who has composed music for national and royal occasions including the wedding of the Prince and Princess of Wales in 2011 and the King’s Coronation last year, said: “This place here, Crathie, is such a glorious place.
“It’s had a huge history of the Royal family right back to Queen Victoria, and it’s not got its own hymn. Well, now it does.”
When at Balmoral during the summer months, the family take their seats in the royal pews at Crathie Kirk, an unassuming Church of Scotland chapel within the grounds of the estate.
The parish church is very much part of family life. It is where the Princess Royal married her second husband, Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence, and where senior royals sought solace during a short service of prayer on September 10, 2022, just two days after the Queen’s death.
It is also where the King and Queen will worship in private on Sunday, as they mark the second anniversary of his accession.
Rev Kenneth MacKenzie has been minister at the church for more than 20 years and as a personal chaplain to the late monarch, was called to Balmoral castle on the day before she died.
“It happened here, the death, and that was particularly poignant, obviously for us. We felt that loss because there was that connectedness with this area,” he said.
Asked how it felt to be a chaplain to both the late Queen and now, her eldest son, he added: “I find it hugely rewarding, a real privilege, and getting to spend time with them at moments of good times, and not so good times, of course.
“The Queen would speak to me about church life and parish life. She would ask me about individual people in the parish, ‘how is so-and-so doing?’ She very much felt part of this worship.
“She was very clear about her faith, and it wasn’t just going to church. Faith was real, it was  deep, and I think she had a real sense of calling. She had a very, very clear sense that she had a responsibility to this nation that was given to her, to some extent, by God.”
On preaching to the royals, the minister added: “There is something rather surreal of course but we are aware of the fact that these are people that have come as part of our congregation. But there is obviously something rather special about it.”
Queen Victoria first worshipped at Crathie Kirk in 1848 and laid the foundation stone for the new, improved church 1893.
“It’s not a royal church, it’s a parish church, part of the Church of Scotland,” Rev MacKenzie said.
“Queen Victoria was very clear that she was a local landowner, and she should go where her people were to worship.”
Songs of Praise is thought to be the world’s longest running religious television programme. It first aired in 1961 from the Tabernacle Baptist Church in Cardiff and has since been filmed in churches and cathedrals across the UK.
The late Queen congratulated the programme as it marked its 60th anniversary in 2021, applauding the series for showing Christianity as “a living faith”.