Princess Kate will host her annual Christmas carol concert tonight (Image: PA)
The will soon welcome 1,600 guests to as she continues her gradual return to public duties following her cancer treatment.
Kate will preside over the Together at Christmas service at Westminster Abbey, which this year has the theme of love and empathy.
Among the 1,600 guests, tonight will be people who have supported others in their communities in their own way and people who have gone through difficult times this year.
Each of the guests in which she thanks them and tells them that “Love is the light that can shine bright, even in our darkest times”.
Her message, included with the order of service which features a cover image by artist Charlie Mackesy, will say: “This Carol Service is a heartfelt celebration of every one of you, and a reminder that at Christmas, and throughout the year, we must all shine for each other.
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Princess Kate will preside over the Together at Christmas service at Westminster Abbey (Image: PA)
“Because in times of joy and sadness, we are all each other’s light.”
The 1,600 guests have all supported others, whether friends or family, helped individuals through their work or volunteered.
Among them is nine-year-old Shyla Brown from Cambridgeshire, who has raised over £2,000 waking marathons, running bake sales and cycling 100 miles around Wisbeck.
She is raising money for her best friend, Harrison, and his brother, who both suffer the degenerative Batten Disease – a life-long condition affecting sight, memory and physical ability.
Olivia Bowditch, 18, from Dorset, is also invited for her work volunteering with the charity “From me to you”, which sends anonymous letters to cancer patients to make them feel loved and supported.
She has been a volunteer for a number of years and sent a letter to the Prince, sharing her support and telling her about the charity and her volunteer work.
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Kate also invited Diven Halai, who became the first man to run the London Marathon with an oxygen machine in 2022, raising £20,000 for Asthma + Lung UK. The 39-year-old has incurable lung disease and shares health advice videos on what it’s like to live with a lung condition.
British Paralympic swimmer Ellie Challis, 20, from Essex, is also invited. Ellie lost her lower limbs and arms through meningitis when she was just 16 months old but has now become a Paralympic swimmer for Team GB, having won a bronze medal in Abu Dhabi 2019, silver in Tokyo and Gold in Paris 2024. She was the youngest member of Paralympics GB in Tokyo 2020.
Christopher Hall, from Hertfordshire, has been the driving and founding force behind the Christopher Hall Foundation, which aims to promote empowerment and inclusivity through the power of photography. The future Queen is a big fan of photography herself.
Chris was homeless for two years and, through support from a charity, he found a talent for photography which helped get him back on his feet and now wants to give a voice to those facing diversity and discrimination.
Families affected by the Southport knife attack, who Kate and William met in October, are also among those invited.
Six-time Olympic champion cyclist Sir Chris Hoy, who has terminal prostate cancer, and Lindsey Burrows, the widow of MND campaigner , are among those lighting candles.