Fans compare Kate Middleton with Princess Diana after surprise piano performance

Kate Middleton is being compared to her mother-in-law Princess Diana after she gave a surprise piano performance for the Christmas carol concert she hosted at Westminster Abbey.

The Duchess of Cambridge played the piano as Tom Walker sang his poignant Christmas single "For Those Who Can't Be Here" for the service in London. The duo had recorded the performance in the Chapter House of the Abbey, one day before the carol service on December 8, and the public found out about it only when ITV aired its coverage of the concert on Christmas Eve.

After the show aired, viewers took to social media to express their surprise with GIFs, and also praised the British royal. Some said they were "speechless" while others said her performance was "touching and mesmerising."

"Truly wonderful and deeply moving evening at the glorious Abbey; Kate is a huge inspirational figure and her piano playing is ace! Such a fabulous spectacle! One to remember forever!" a Twitter user wrote. Walker himself also praised Kate for being an "amazing musician" and revealed that although she was quite nervous when they first rehearsed their performance in a studio, she went away and "invested a lot of time and energy into getting it right."

Meanwhile, other viewers said the Duchess channelled her late mother-in-law Princess Diana, who had also surprised onlookers by giving a piano performance during her and Prince Charles's royal tour of Australia in 1988. The Princess of Wales, who was an accomplished musician and started playing piano as a young girl, had played a part of Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2, apparently without any sheet music.

A Twitter user reflected, "Princess Diana played the piano good [sic] too! How lovely the Duchess shares the same gift. It's been wonderful seeing all her talents, from photography to beekeeping and now the piano."

Another wrote, "She (Kate) is just like Princess Diana, she played the piano too, and quite well in fact." A third one exclaimed, "Kate Middleton proving she's the best thing to happen to the Royals since Princess Diana."