Prince William quoted an extract from the late Queen’s Christmas message on “togetherness” tonight at a carol concert, just hours after bombshell claims were made by Harry and Meghan in the final part of their Netflix documentary.
The royal family put on a united front at Westminster Abbey, with the King, the Queen Consort and the Prince of Wales joining Kate and the wider royal family for her festive concert on Thursday evening.
Kate, who was hosting the event, thanked those taking part, including actor Hugh Bonneville who read a letter from Paddington to his Aunt Lucy. Laughing and joking with the guests, Kate was heard telling singer Alfie Boe about her own musical skills, saying she needed more practice singing.
“On the piano you can slightly hide away a bit more than you can do singing,” she said. “Actually my children probably wouldn’t forgive me – I’m not sure whether they think I’ve got a particularly good singing voice. I’ll have to have some lessons.”
During the service William read an extract from the late Queen’s 2012 Christmas message.
More than 1,800 people gathered in the abbey for the concert, staged to recognise the “selfless efforts of individuals, families and communities across the UK, and celebrate and showcase the joy that human connection and togetherness can bring”.
Kensington Palace said the second carol service was dedicated to the late Queen and the values she demonstrated throughout her life, including “duty, empathy, faith, service, kindness, compassion and support for others”.
The palace said 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”.
A Christmas tree in the abbey was decorated with small Paddington Bear decorations, a nod to the late Queen’s famous sketch, while guests were greeted with atmospheric snowflakes from a snow machine as they arrived at the entrance.
Members of the royal family who were at the concert included the Countess of Wessex, the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, the Duke of Kent and Princess Alexandra.
Kate also had the support of her parents Carole and Michael Middleton, her sister Pippa and her husband James Matthews, and her brother James and his wife Alizee.
It comes after the Duke of Sussex made damaging claims against his brother, the Prince of Wales, in his Netflix documentary, alleging he was left terrified when William screamed and shouted at him at a tense Sandringham summit.
Harry, in the final volume of the Sussexes’ controversial series, said Kensington Palace “lied to protect my brother” when it issued a joint statement in both their names the same day without his permission denying a story that William had bullied him out of the royal family.
In a raft of bombshell allegations against his family, Harry accused his father, now the King, of saying untrue things when the Queen gathered them together at Sandringham in January 2020 in a bid to solve the Megxit crisis.
Harry also claimed his brother’s office, Kensington Palace, traded negative stories just like his father’s had in the past, saying it was “heart-breaking” to see something he and William promised they would “never ever do” taking place.
