The Princess of Wales spoke of “challenging times” and how she “didn’t know” what this year would bring as she made a rare public appearance at her annual Christmas carol service.
Kate, who is making a gradual return to public events after completing her cancer treatment around four months ago, was heard on broadcast footage telling singer Paloma Faith: “I didn’t know this year was going to be the year I’ve just had.”
When Faith replied “the unplanned”, Kate said: “The unplanned, exactly.
“But I think lots of people this year have had such challenging times.”
It is the fourth time the princess has held her event at Westminster Abbey in celebration of the positive qualities found in many and to bring festive cheer to the capital and associated events around the country.
Celebrity performers included Faith, Richard E Grant and Gregory Porter, with Sir Chris Hoy giving a reading for the 1,600 guests who have supported others, whether friends or family, helped individuals through their work or volunteered.
Prince Louis left a touching Christmas message to his grandparents inspired by his mother’s annual festive celebration.
The young royal and his siblings left notes on a “kindness tree” erected as part of the Together at Christmas carol service dedicated to those “who have shown love, kindness and empathy to others in their communities”.
When Prince George, 11, Princess Charlotte, nine, and Louis, aged six, first arrived with their father William, they stopped at the kindness tree, outside the abbey’s great west door, and hung messages on its branches in recognition of someone who has supported them during their lives.
They all arrived clutching their red tags and Louis’ could be seen with the handwritten words: “Thank you to granny and grandpa because they have played games with me.”
It is thought the message refers to Kate’s parents Carole and Michael Middleton, who are known to be hands-on grandparents.
The princess had travelled ahead of her family to meet the celebrities taking part and personally thank them for their time.
She told jazz singer Porter: “Thank you, I’m conscious it’s such a busy time for everybody.”
The princess wore a festive red coat featuring a large black bow on the collar and black buttons by Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen.
She turned to Faith, in a red dress, and singer-songwriter JP Cooper, who wore a similar coloured coat, and smiled as she said: “It’s a celebration, everybody’s wearing red.
Faith joked about her eight-year-old daughter, who said, when told her mother was leaving home to sing for a princess: “Are they going to chop your head off?”
The singer and Kate laughed as the performer said: “I don’t think they do that any more.”
Later, Kate walked through the abbey and stopped to speak to a number of the guests as they sat waiting for the carol service to begin.
She chatted to 100-year-old RAF veteran Bernard Morgan from Crewe, who landed in Normandy on D-Day in 1944 and returned to the site of the Second World War campaign with the Royal British Legion in June, to mark the 80th anniversary of the landings.
Mr Morgan, who still speaks to schools and colleges about his wartime experiences, said afterwards: “I am very grateful to be invited and I was honoured to light a candle on behalf of all the amazing volunteers at the Royal British Legion who give up their time to support veterans like me.
“I am always keen for the younger generation to know exactly what went on during the war and to appreciate the sacrifice that our lads made so that we can enjoy the freedoms we have today.
“Being able to continue to tell my story at 100 is wonderful and I am grateful to the Princess of Wales and the Royal British Legion for giving me the opportunity to do that.
“It was lovely to see Her Royal Highness looking so well. It was a delightful event at the abbey and a night I will never forget.”
Among the members of the royal family attending the carol service were the Duchess of Edinburgh, Princess Beatrice and her husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, and their son Christopher Woolf Mapelli Mozzi.
William’s cousin Zara Tindall was also among the guests, as were Prince and Princess Michael of Kent and their daughter Lady Gabriella Windsor, making her first appearance at a royal event since a coroner concluded this week that her husband Thomas Kingston had taken his own life following an inquest into his death.
The highlights of the service included Porter performing Do You Hear What I Hear? and Faith singing the classic soul song This Christmas.
Actor Richard E Grant recited a passage from Charles Dickens’s classic festive story A Christmas Carol while Downton Abbey star Michelle Dockery read some of her personal reflections.
Carols sung by the congregation included Once in Royal David’s City, O Come All Ye Faithful, Away In A Manger and Hark! The Herald Angels Sing.
The event will be broadcast as part of the programme Royal Carols: Together At Christmas, screened on ITV1 and ITVX on Christmas Eve, and it will feature three films about the stories of people and organisations who have inspired, counselled and comforted others in their times of need.
Alongside the service at Westminster Abbey, 15 community carol services are taking place around the UK this month to provide a moment for people to come together and celebrate community work during the festive season.
