Kate Middleton has been hosting “Together at Christmas” at Westminster Abbey since 2021.The annual carol service began as a way to honor “community heroes” during the COVID-19 pandemic.This year’s theme is “love in all its forms.”
For the British royal family, holiday season is marked by a few key moments—chief among them the annual pilgrimage to Sandringham and Kate Middleton‘s “Together at Christmas” carol service. Hosted at Westminster Abbey, the latter event has been a staple in the royal calendar since 2021, when the princess launched the initiative amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Kate Middleton, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis at “Together at Christmas” in 2024.
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Now in its fifth year, “Together at Christmas” invites roughly 1,600 guests to sing, celebrate, and revel in the magic of holiday season. And, while each iteration has felt special, this year’s gathering promises to be especially poignant given that Middleton is now in remission from cancer. The theme? Love in all its forms.
“Christmas is a time that reminds us how deeply our lives are woven together,” the future queen wrote in her letter to guests, per People. “Just as the roots of trees share strength beneath the soil, unseen but vital, so too do we. We are drawn by an instinctive pull towards belonging and connection.”
Ahead, here’s everything you should know about the annual “Together at Christmas” carol service, including why one royal expert calls the event Middleton’s “baby.”
Kate Middleton launched “Together at Christmas” in 2021.
Prince William, Kate Middleton, and Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh at “Together at Christmas” in 2021.
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In 2021, Middleton hosted her first “Together at Christmas” service to celebrate and uplift “community heroes” amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The event was (and is) supported The Royal Foundation, a.k.a. the charity run by the Prince and Princess of Wales.
For the inaugural event, Middleton wore a red dress courtesy of one of Princess Diana‘s favorite designers: Catherine Walker. Queen Elizabeth II also donated some trees from Windsor Great Park to help decorate Westminster Abbey.
As for the service itself, it featured carols sung by the Westminster Abbey choir, performances by Ellie Goulding, Leona Lewis, and Tom Walker, and a reading of Luke 2:1-7 by Prince William.
“We have lost loved ones, seen out frontline workers placed under immeasurable pressure, and we have experienced heart-wrenching isolation from those we hold most dear,” Middleton wrote in the program notes, per People. “Alongside this, we have seen how communities have come together to support those most in need. And through our separation from others, we have been reminded just how powerful human connection is to us all.”
The annual event is her “baby.”
“Together at Christmas” is clearly the highlight of the holiday season for many royals fans, and, according to author Katie Nicholl, it is likewise Middleton’s “baby.” Most especially in 2024, the annual event represented a “note of hope and optimism for her” following her cancer diagnosis.
By that same token, the service is a chance for the princess to be “less guarded” and more “animated,” said author Judi James in an interview with the DailyMail, adding that her “flickering, animated body language” mimicked that of Princess Diana during last year’s event.
Every year has a different theme.
Following 2021’s ode to COVID-19 “community heroes,” subsequent services each had their own theme. In 2022, on the heels of King Charles and Queen Camilla’s coronation, “Together at Christmas” served as an homage to the late Queen Elizabeth II.
“This year’s carol service is dedicated to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and the values Her Majesty demonstrated throughout her life, including duty, empathy, faith, service, kindness, compassion and support for others,” a press release from Buckingham Palace noted at the time, per People. “These principles are shared and personified by the inspirational guests who have been invited to the Abbey in recognition of their tireless work to help and care for those around them.”
The following year, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis attended “Together at Christmas” for the first time. Fittingly, the service emphasized the importance of supporting children and families. Then, in 2024, it was all about investing in one’s community. This year, Middleton wrote that the service is a chance to “honor the visible and invisible bonds that unite us all,” per People.
In 2024, Kate Middleton “put on a brave face.”
Kate Middleton at “Together at Christmas” in 2024.
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Middleton’s 2024 carol service was one of her first major royal appearances since completing her chemotherapy treatment for an undisclosed form of cancer. According to attendee Jenny Powell, the Princess of Wales “put on a brave face” for her roughly 1,600 guests.
“They looked so happy together,” Powell told People of the Wales family. “It’s been a hard year, but she [Kate] put that brave face on and she looked absolutely gorgeous.”
Powell also revealed that Middleton placed a letter on the chair of each guest that summed up the event’s theme of love and kindness. “It was a gorgeous letter,” Powell said. “It really showed her appreciation of what we’re all doing. It was quite touching and brought tears to my eyes.”
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor is reportedly banned from the event.
Much like the royal family’s annual Christmas gathering at Sandringham, Middleton’s carol service will not include her disgraced uncle-in-law, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor. According to royal columnist Ephraim Hardcastle, the Prince and Princess of Wales have refused to invite the former duke for several years now.
Besides Andrew, as 22 members of the royal family attended “Together at Christmas” last year—including Andrew’s daughter Princess Beatrice, Zara Tindall, and Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh.