Kate Middleton’s poignant message of hope and the significance of affection in ‘our darkest of occasions’ to friends at her carol live performance after her most traumatic 12 months

The Princess of Wales will emphasise the importance of love in ‘our darkest of times’ in a deeply poignant letter to guests attending her Christmas carol concert.

As a challenging year for the Princess draws to a close, one in which the she was treated for cancer, she has written movingly in the letter of how the Christmas story ‘reflects our own vulnerabilities’.

And she urges everyone to live with ‘an open heart’ and offer succour to those in need through ‘gentle words or a receptive ear, an arm around an exhausted shoulder, or silently being by someone’s side’.

It is the first time Kate, 42, has written to those attending the service at Westminster Abbey, whose theme this year is ‘how much we need each other, especially in the most difficult times of our lives’.

Guests include six-time Olympic gold medallist Sir Chris Hoy, who has terminal cancer, and Downton Abbey star Michelle Dockery, who lost her fiance to the illness.

The Princess has also invited children who survived the horrific Southport stabbings in July.

Aides said the Princess wrote the ‘special letter’ as she wanted to lend a personal touch to Friday’s service, this year entitled Together at Christmas.

In it, she says: ‘Christmas is one of my favourite times of the year.

‘It is a time for celebration and joy, but it also gives us the opportunity to slow down and reflect on the deeper things that connect us all.

‘The Christmas story encourages us to consider the experiences and feelings of others… above all else, it encourages us to turn to love, not fear.

‘Love is the light that can shine bright, even in our darkest times.’

Shaped not only by her own cancer journey but also that of the King, her words reflect her growing spirituality.

Royal biographer and Mail writer Robert Hardman revealed in his recent book that Kate ‘had become rather more interested in questions of faith as a result of her condition’.

While Prince William is said to have minimal interest, a church-going friend of the family told Hardman that ‘things are more hopeful’ in terms of Kate’s faith.

She has been making a gradual return to work after finishing her course of chemotherapy, while the King, 76, is still undergoing treatment after his successful tour of Australia and will visit Italy next year.

Next week the Princess will undertake her most significant public engagement since she began cancer treatment when she welcomes the Emir of Qatar on his state visit to the UK.

Health scares have weighed heavy on the Royal Family.

Prince William, 42, recently admitted that the past year has been ‘brutal’ and ‘probably the hardest year in my life’.

Yet Kate’s letter strikes a resoundingly positive note with repeated references to ‘love’ – the word is mentioned 11 times – and ‘light’, themes she has been drawn to since her diagnosis. In September the Princess announced that she had finished her course of chemotherapy.

In a personal video she said that ‘out of darkness, can come light so let that light shine bright’,

She added that the Royal Family’s tribulations had ‘above all reminded William and me to reflect and be grateful for the simple yet important things in life, which so many of us often take for granted. Of simply loving and being loved.’

Elsewhere in the letter she stresses ‘the importance of giving and receiving empathy, as well as just how much we need each other in spite of our differences’.

Some commentators may hope the Princess’s approach could encourage her husband to soften his anger towards Prince Harry and allow the possibility of a future reconciliation. The Duke of Sussex has been reaching out to his old friends to connect with his former life in the UK, but the Prince of Wales continues to be stubbornly estranged from his younger brother.

As in previous years, William will support his wife at the concert and plans to give a reading on the theme of ‘love and empathy’. It is understood a decision on whether Prince George, 11, Princess Charlotte, nine, and Prince Louis, six, will attend the service is likely to be taken on the day.

In previous years other members of the Royal Family have shown their support, although King Charles and Queen Camilla are not expected to attend.

Kate’s letter will be given to all 1,600 guests at Westminster Abbey, which also includes guests who ‘have gone through difficult times this year’ and those who have supported others in their community’. 

It will also be given to guests at the 15 community carol services taking place around the UK, including at the Royal Cornwall Hospital in Truro and Blackpool Tower Circus.

It is the fourth time the Princess of Wales will host a Christmas carol service.

Previous themes have varied from Covid-19 to her Shaping Us early childhood campaign, but this year’s is undoubtedly the most personal yet.

Alongside the message of ‘love and empathy’, this year Westminster Abbey will be adorned with ‘sustainable, festive decorations’ to emphasise the importance of nature ‘as a source of healing and comfort’, a theme the Princess has emphasised throughout her own cancer journey.

There will also be a ‘kindness tree’ outside the Abbey for guests to dedicate a decoration to someone who has supported them throughout their life.

Key roles for stars whose lives have been touched by cancer

Olympic legend Sir Chris Hoy will play a leading role in the Princess of Wales’s Christmas carol concert this week after being ‘in contact’ with Kate following their cancer diagnoses.

The cyclist shocked the nation in October when he bravely announced he had been diagnosed with terminal cancer and had between two and four years left to live. The MoS can reveal Sir Chris has since been in contact with the Princess of Wales, who announced her own cancer diagnosis in a courageous video to the nation in March.

Last month Sir Chris referenced the Princess in a radio interview, explaining how her decision to speak publicly about her condition showed the public that cancer is a ‘leveller’ that can ‘impact anybody at any time’. 

The Olympian is one of 1,600 individuals invited to the concert at Westminster Abbey on Friday, many of whom ‘have gone through difficult times’. 

Sir Chris will light a candle at the concert alongside Lindsey Burrow, the widow of rugby star Rob Burrow, who died aged 41 in June from motor neurone disease, and teammate Paralympians Lizzi Jordan and Danni Khan.

Prince William met Rob in January to present him with his CBE and has written the foreword to his memoir.

The service will also feature Downton Abbey actress Michelle Dockery (right), whose fiancé died aged 34 of cancer in 2015. Actor Richard E Grant, whose wife died from lung cancer in 2021, will also give a reading, as will Olympic swimmer

Adam Peaty – whose former training partner, David Murphy, was diagnosed with stage two cancer in 2022 – and actress Sophie Okonedo.

Two weeks ago Kensington Palace announced that the Princess will host the Together At Christmas concert on December 6 with performances from Paloma Faith, Olivia Dean and Gregory Porter.

The event will be broadcast on ITV1 and ITVX on Christmas Eve.