Kate Middleton and Prince Louis, six, share a young mother-son second in first glimpse of the royals contained in the Princess of Wales’s ‘Together At Christmas’ carol live performance
The Princess of Wales and Prince Louis shared a very sweet moment in the first footage of the royals inside her ‘Together At Christmas‘ carol concert, due to air on Christmas Eve.
Kate, 42, hosted her fourth concert at Westminster Abbey in the heart of London at the start of this month – but details of the service itself have been kept tightly under wraps.
She has been making a gradual return to public duties after undergoing a course of preventative chemotherapy treatment for cancer at the start of the year.
In a new clip released by ITV ahead of the full service airing on Christmas Eve, British actress Sophie Okonedo was seen reading a poem, The Kindness Of Trees.
As the actress, 56, read the poem, the camera panned to the audience to show the royals listening attentively.
In a heartwarming moment, the youngest Wales sibling, six-year-old Prince Louis appeared to be looking at his mother Kate to gauge her reaction.
Smiling down at him, the two shared a loving glance before continuing to listen to the poem.
Princess Charlotte, nine, meanwhile appeared to be closely following along to the poem on her Order Of Service sheet, smiling as she did so.
The Princess of Wales and Prince Louis shared a very sweet moment in the first glimpse of the royals inside her ‘Together At Christmas ‘ carol concert
As the royals listened to poem The Kindness Of Trees, Louis looked up at his mother to see her reaction
Next to her, Prince William and Prince George, 11, were focused on listening to Sophie, as the Hotel Rwanda star read: ‘The tree roared in the wind in the dead midwinter night / ‘The tree blew a hello, goodbye, when every child was asleep in bed, the tree sung a lullaby.’
Sat behind the Wales family was Princess Anne‘s daughter Zara Tindall, who looked stunning in a velvet suit, while the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester were behind William.
Next to them was George Gilman, who is married to the Gloucesters’ daughter, Lady Rose Windsor.
Lady Rose wasn’t present, but Gilman was joined by their daughter Lyla, 14, amid the backdrop of the beautifully decorated Abbey.
The first glimpse at the service featured Gregory Porter, who is performing Do You Hear What I Hear? to a packed audience inside the beautiful Anglican church.
As he performed the Christmas anthem – written by Noël Regney and Gloria Shayne in 1962 as a plea to end the Cuban Missile Crisis – the camera panned to show an audience engrossed in his rendition.
They included British actress Hannah Waddingham, who smiles towards the performance in a floral dress and deep burgundy jacket.
Porter is one of a number of performers at the service, which will also feature Paloma Faith and Olivia Dean. And the stories of members of the invited congregation will be shared.
The new clip provides the first glimpse of the royals inside the carol concert, which is due to air on Christmas Eve
Kate has released another sneak peak at the service, showing British actress Sophie Okonedo reading a poem, The Kindness Of Trees
Sophie read the poem amid a very festive backdrop in the Abbey, including two Christmas trees and a nativity scene
The Princess of Wales has shared a first glimpse into her annual carol concert – with a soulful clip of Gregory Porter performing inside Westminster Abbey
The service, produced by The Royal Foundation, aims to ‘celebrate the many people supporting those in need – individuals who have inspired, counselled, comforted, and above all else shown that love is the greatest gift we can receive’.
ITV said: ‘This theme takes inspiration from the Christmas story which encourages us to consider the experiences of others and the important human need of giving and receiving empathy.’
The concert was the first time the Wales family had been seen together in public since their appearance at Trooping the Colour, the King’s birthday parade, in June.
She was also accompanied by the wider Middleton family, from supportive mother Carole to sister Pippa, 41, and brother James, 37.
The princess, who has been ‘hands on’ over every aspect of the service and held regular planning meetings at Windsor, arrived on her own at 4pm to view the abbey and oversee last minute arrangements before walking around to greet other guests.
When singer Paloma Faith expressed sympathy for the princess, who this year underwent chemotherapy, Kate, 42, replied: ‘I didn’t know this time last year it was going to be the year I’ve just had‘.
She went on: ‘The unplanned… but I think lots of people this year have had such challenging times and many who are here today…’
Kate Middleton , 42, hosted her fourth ‘Together at Christmas ‘ service at the historic church in the heart of London at the start of December. Pictured: Gregory Porter
As he performs the Christmas anthem – written by Noël Regney and Gloria Shayne in 1962 as a plea to end the Cuban Missile Crisis – the camera pans to show an audience engrossed in his rendition
The concert was one of the few times the mother-of-three has made a public appearance this year, after undergoing a course of preventative chemotherapy in the first half of 2024
The princess, who married Prince William in 2011 and attended the late Queen’s funeral in 2022 at Westminster Abbey, said that the building held ‘so many memories’ for her.
While seeming to talk about the soloists from the Royal Ballet who performed during the service, Kate said that she had enlisted Prince Louis, six, to keep it a surprise for her daughter Princess Charlotte, nine.
Speaking to Faith, Kate said she asked Louis: ‘Can you keep a secret otherwise it won’t be a surprise for Charlotte, who loves her ballet dancing?’
She said that Louis agreed. ‘He has kept the secret for, what, nearly two weeks now.’ ‘Very challenging,’ said Paloma.
‘For a six-year-old,’ replied Kate. ‘And then this morning he said “Mummy, please can I tell her – I’m bursting.” I did drop off and he really wanted to tell her. I think – hopefully – he’s kept it.’
Charlotte later looked thrilled as she saw the ballet dancers, suggesting her younger brother had been good to his word.
The Princess of Wales underwent major abdominal surgery in hospital, after which doctors broke the news that they had found evidence of cancer and advised her to undergo the gruelling treatment
The Princess of Wales was all smiles as she attended her Christmas-themed event
The royal mother-of-three greets children who are performing at Westminster Abbey for her carol concert
Kate was full of laughter as she chatted to some of her guests at the carol concert, including Paloma Faith
The Prince and Princess of Wales and their children, Prince George, Prince Louis and Princess Charlotte, arrive for the Together At Christmas carol service
The Prince of Wales, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, Prince Louis and the Princess of Wales during the Together At Christmas carol service
The princess (pictured) has been ‘hands on’ over every aspect of the service and held regular planning meetings at Windsor
Kate then walked to the north transept and knelt down to speak to scouts from 44th Bury (Robot) scout group from Bury, Manchester.
Greeting various guests as she walked through the abbey, she stopped at the nave to greet Chris Hoy and his family.
The Olympic cycling champion who has terminal cancer told her he had never been to Westminster Abbey before.
Shaking hands with Hoy’s young son Callum and daughter Chloe, Kate, who was dressed in a red coat with black bow by Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen, commented on Chloe’s sparkly dress, saying: ‘I was going to wear sparkles too!’
By the nave, Kate stopped to speak to 100-year-old D-Day veteran Bernard Morgan who was attending the service as an ambassador for the Royal British Legion.
Royal Carols: Together At Christmas airs Christmas Eve at 7.30pm on ITV1 and ITVX.
