The Princess of Wales was joined by her husband and their three children at her carol service at Westminster Abbey as she told performers that it had become a family “tradition”.
Kate, 43, hosted the fifth Together at Christmas service, which featured readings from Hollywood celebrities Kate Winslet, the Titanic actress, and Chiwetel Ejiofor, star of Love Actually.
Wearing a dark green coat with a faux fur collar and drop “tsar star” earrings by Robinson Pelham, the same jeweller who designed the diamond earrings she wore on her wedding day in the abbey in 2011, the princess arrived on her own to greet guests and performers before being joined by Prince William, Prince George, 12, Princess Charlotte, ten, and Prince Louis, seven, who were all dressed in matching navy blue.
It is the first time the Wales family have been seen together in public since their appearance at Trooping the Colour, the King’s birthday parade, in June.
Kate’s parents, Michael and Carole Middleton and her brother James and his wife Alizee joined them.
Other members of the royal family included Zara and Mike Tindall.
It is understood that Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, the daughters of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, were invited to the service but were unable to attend.
Zara and Mike Tindall with Hannah Waddingham (centre)
GETTY IMAGES
The 1,600 guests were greeted by the sound of Christmas carols being played by young musicians from Future Talent, the charity established by the late Duchess of Kent, who died earlier this year.
Before the service, Kate thanked singers Katie Melua, Dan Smith, Griff and Fisherman’s Friends for taking time out of their schedules to perform.
When speaking to Smith, the Bastille singer, the princess told him that her children are “really excited, it [the service] has become such a tradition”.
Moving into the abbey she greeted some of the congregation, including Holocaust survivor Steven Frank, who was photographed by the princess in 2020 to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the end of the genocide.
She also went up to guest Eugene Levy, the Schitt’s Creek actor who interviewed Prince William in his Apple+ travel programme The Reluctant Traveler. The programme saw Levy visit Windsor Castle and a dog walk to the local pub, where the prince opened up about his family life and plans to “change” the monarchy when he becomes King.
“Lovely to meet you. You know my husband very well now,” she said. “I hope he looked after you. And you got to meet our dog.”
“I’m a bit of a dog whisperer myself, and the cookies helped,” the actor said, before telling the princess that it was “a memorable day that’s for sure”.
Dame Mary Berry, who helped create a wreath that formed part of the abbey’s floral display, told the princess: “I haven’t been before and I’m so excited to come. A real treat.”
During the service, guests were invited to light candles and were given an order of service inscribed with the message: “This service is dedicated to you and the love you have shown”. The back of the booklet featured a quote from William Morris: “Love is enough”.
Joe Locke, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Kate Winslet
In a personal letter to guests at the Westminster Abbey service and 15 other similar services across the UK, the princess wrote: “At its heart, Christmas speaks of love taking form in the simplest, most human ways.”
The princess also praised community stalwarts invited to the service, telling them they are making an “extraordinary difference to the lives of others”.
She said the Christmas period reminded us “how deeply our lives are woven together”, adding that despite life feeling “fragmented or uncertain” at times, the festive season “invites us to remember the power of reaching out to one another”.
Prince William gave a reading from Luke’s Gospel and Kate Winslet read a passage from something she had written herself.
Katie Melua
CHRIS JACKSON/PA
Winslet said: “We all deserve to belong. Especially now, when so many are in need of kindness and understanding, a kind word of a shared meal — can mean more than we’ll ever know.”
She added: “Christmas is about giving. But maybe we can think about being “present” as our Christmas present to those we love and to those who need to feel comforted and heard.”
As well as songs from the choir, Katie Melua, the singer who was away from public life for several years due to mental health challenges, performed the song White Christmas in a line up that included Fisherman’s Friends.
Hannah Waddingham, the Ted Lasso actress, who had been due to sing, was forced to sit in the audience after her singing voice had been affected by an exhausting filming schedule.
Westminster Abbey was decorated for the service
AARON CHOWN/PA
One schoolgirl who received an invitation was Madison Reed, who last year raised more than £1,360 for the Archie Foundation, which supports sick children, by highland dancing in 26 locations across Scotland, each beginning with a different letter of the alphabet.
The service was designed to recognise individuals from across the UK who have dedicated their time to helping others, led groups that bring their communities together or offered a helping hand.
In the abbey, sports stars joined the pews, including players from England’s Women’s Rugby World Cup winning squad — Rosie Galligan, Helena Rowland, Jess Breach and Marlie Packer, and some members from the Welsh women’s rugby team, including captain Alex Callender, and Lioness Michelle Agyemang, a member of England’s Women’s Euro 2025 winners.
Former England rugby captain Lewis Moody, who recently announced he has motor neurone disease, was also invited.
Second World War veterans were represented by Jack Mortimer, a corporal with the Royal Army Ordnance Corps who landed on Sword Beach on D-Day, and John Eskdale, who saw combat with the Malta Convoys in 1942 and was involved in the invasion of Sicily in the summer of 1943.
Ambassadors and Friends of the Royal Horticultural Society, gardener Arit Anderson, florist Simon Lycett and TV presenters Angellica Bell and Tom Allen, who all helped make wreaths on display in the abbey with school children, were also among the guests.
The one-hour service, which featured two pre-recorded videos made by BBC Studios, will be shown on ITV on Christmas Eve and repeated on Christmas Day.