Rice gives piano recital fit for a queen

Secretary of state performs at Buckingham Palace for British monarch

Image: Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, Condoleezza Rice, Louise Miliband

John Stillwell / AP

Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, left, shakes hands with Condoleezza Rice, the U.S. Secretary of State, as Louise Miliband, right, the wife of the British Foreign Secretary David Miliband, looks on, prior to a private concert at Buckingham Palace in London, England, on Monday.

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Rice gives royal recital
Dec. 2: Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice gives a piano recital for Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace. Listen to part of Rice's performance.

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updated 10:28 a.m. ET Dec. 2, 2008

LONDON - U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice gave a piano recital for Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace.

Rice performed music by Johannes Brahms and was accompanied by British Foreign Secretary David Miliband's wife, Louise, on violin, as well as three members of the London Symphony Orchestra.

The queen gave Rice an audio recording of the recital Monday night as a gift.

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Rice is a classically trained pianist who had expressed a wish to play at the palace.

She was making her final trip to Britain before President-elect Barack Obama takes office next month. She was due Tuesday in Brussels for a meeting of NATO foreign ministers, and then planned to travel to India.