Your Crowning Glory
"Your Crowning Glory" is a song from the 2004 Disney film The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement, sung by Julie Andrews and Raven-Symoné. It is notable for being the first time Julie Andrews sang in film following her 1997 botched throat surgery. Intermittent singing in films had used old recordings of her.
In the film
Within the context of the film, the song is one that Princess Amelia had heard in childhood; she asks her grandmother to sing it as she heads to adulthood and marriage. Clarisse sings it at a slumber party for Amelia and the other guests, before being joined by Asana after the remixed second verse starts to play.Development
Andrews had initially resisted the idea of singing in The Princess Diaries 2, feeling that it would come across to audiences as gimmicky, as well as slow down the action. She was eventually convinced by her husband Blake Edwards and director Garry Marshall, on the condition that she would have the right to cut the number if she felt it did not fit within the film. Andrews then personally chose Larry Grossman to work on the film's music, and he constructed a song that was written in a single octave to avoid it being vocally demanding for the actress.Andrews asked him to keep the song simple, low, and within her 5-note range. Lyricist Lorraine Feather described the song as "old-fashioned... with classic-type lyrics." Music supervisor Dawn Soler described the piece as having a classic song structure, with a hip-hop feel. Andrews begins the song in a talk-sing style, then transitions to singing with a limited vocal range and noticeably raspy tone.
Andrews added the idea of a back-and-forth banter between her character and Raven's. Trained soprano Hathaway, who had recently had a singing role in Ella Enchanted, abstained from singing in the number; one reason was that she did not think her character was one to break into song.
In terms of staging, Andrews insisted that the number be deliberately impromptu, rather than a huge, show-stopping performance. Over 250 people were present to watch Andrews's performance. Marshall said the song made those on the set "deeply moved" and "teary-eyed". Raven called the experience of singing with one of her "very favorite performers" an "experience of a lifetime"; meanwhile, Andrews recalled the set that day being "lively and full of energy".