William and Kate join celebrities for Together at Christmas carol service
Kate is presiding over her annual Together at Christmas carol service at Westminster Abbey
The Prince and Princess of Wales and their children have joined a congregation of celebrities, sporting stars and community stalwarts to celebrate love in all its forms at Christmas.
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Kate is presiding over her annual Together at Christmas carol service at Westminster Abbey, with about 1,600 guests filling the pews where the princess and her husband married in 2011.
She arrived before the service to meet some of the stars performing or giving readings, including actress Kate Winslet and singer Katie Melua.
She told Dan Smith, lead singer with Bastille, that her children had been looking forward to the service: “They’re really excited, it’s become such a tradition.”
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When Prince George, 12, Princess Charlotte, 10, and Prince Louis, seven, arrived with their father, Kate was there to meet them.
Outside the Abbey’s great west door the family stopped at a “Connection Tree” decorated with paper chains bearing the names of guests.
The children added their names to the tree, a symbol of togetherness and the importance of moments of connection.
Hollywood stars Kate Winslet and Chiwetel Ejiofor will give readings, as will the Prince of Wales.
Celebrity chef Dame Mary Berry, who has created a Christmas wreath on display in the Abbey, will also be among the guests alongside leading sportswomen.
The service recognised individuals from across the UK who may have dedicated or volunteered their time to others, led initiatives that bring people in their community together, or offered a helping hand to those around them.
Among those invited is schoolgirl Madison Reed, who last year raised more than £1,360 for the Archie Foundation by Highland dancing in 26 locations across Scotland, each beginning with a different letter of the alphabet.
She raised the funds for the charity, which supports sick children receiving medical care in north-east Scotland, along with their families.
Former England rugby captain Lewis Moody, who recently announced he has motor neurone disease, has been invited, as has Holocaust survivor Steven Frank, who was photographed by Kate in 2020 to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the end of the Holocaust.
The nation’s Second World War veterans are expected to be 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 Angelica Bell and Tom Allen, who all helped make wreaths on display in the abbey with school children, will also be among the guests.