Royal wedding music 2018: Mother of cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason speaks of her pride and says ‘he treated it like a private concert'

The mother of a teenage cellist who was handpicked by Meghan Markle to play at the royal wedding today spoke of her pride.

Nineteen-year-old Sheku Kanneh-Mason’s performance was one of the highlights of Harry and Meghan’s ­celebration in Windsor on Saturday.

Back at home in Nottingham, the student’s parents, siblings and extended family were glued to the TV, cheering him on.

His mother Kadiatu Kanneh, 52, told the Standard: “It was amazing, such a lovely occasion and so beautiful. We’re so proud of him.”

The former university lecturer said her son treated the event “like a private concert”.

“He didn’t pay any attention to all the cameras,” she said. “He focuses completely on the music and doesn’t get nervous. That’s how you have to do it.

“I saw him the week before and he was very calm and really looking forward to it and very prepared.”

Mr Kanneh-Mason, who is revising for exams at the Royal Academy of Music, was personally invited by the Duchess of Sussex to play at the wedding.

His mother said: “Kensington Palace called me and asked me for Sheku’s mobile number. So they rang him and said, ‘Someone at the palace wants to talk to you.’

“Then he heard this woman with an American accent saying, ‘Hello, this is Meghan Markle.’

“It was completely out of the blue. He called me straight away and told me. It was incredibly surreal but such a wonderful, personal touch.”

She added: “When Sheku met Meghan and Harry in person he said they were lovely — really personable and no pomposity. They made him feel like a friend.”

The rising star, who dressed in a Paul Smith suit for the occasion, performed three songs chosen by the royal couple, including Franz Schubert’s Ave Maria, Maria Theresia von Paradis’s Sicilienne and Gabriel Fauré’s Après un rêve.

Mr Kanneh-Mason, who comes from a family of musicians, is no stranger to the limelight, having previously performed at the Baftas and been crowned the BBC’s Young Musician of the Year. He reached the 2015 semi-finals of Britain’s Got Talent in a classical ensemble alongside four of his siblings.