The Princess of Wales’s carol concert, Royal Carols: Together at Christmas, will be returning this festive season with a very poignant theme.
For the past three Decembers we’ve all been treated to a heart-warming and special Christmas carol service hosted by the Princess of Wales at Westminster Abbey. Whilst only a select group of invitees get to attend the carol service in person, each iteration of Together at Christmas has also been broadcast for people to watch at home as part of their festive TV line-up. According to the Court Circular one of Kate’s first royal duties after she "completed" cancer treatment in September was a meeting at Windsor Castle.
Reports claimed that this could have been to discuss the 2024 Together at Christmas service and whether or not this was correct, the Princess of Wales has now confirmed that Royal Carols: Together at Christmas will be back once more bringing festive joy and a sense of gratitude this December. As we all look forward to watching Kate's carol service once again, here are all the details we know so far about it this year.
When will Kate Middleton's carol service be on TV?
In a special video shared to officially confirm the return of the service, the Princess of Wales announced that Royal Carols: Together at Christmas will be shown on TV on Christmas Eve 2024. This follows the pattern of all the previous services, but doesn’t mean that it will be filmed then. As she has in the past, Kate will actually be hosting the Together at Christmas carol service earlier on in December, when it will be filmed ready to be broadcast later on. Her Royal Highness revealed that her concert will be filmed on Friday, 6th December at Westminster Abbey.
Although fans won’t get a glimpse of the service until the air-date, we do usually get to see the Princess of Wales, the Prince of Wales, their fellow royals and other special guests arriving in their festive best to attend the service on the day it’s filmed.
How to watch Royal Carols: Together at Christmas
Kate's carol service will be airing on ITV1 and ITVX and although the Princess hasn't yet confirmed the exact time, her other carol services have been broadcast around 7:45pm on Christmas Eve. It's likely that this year's Together at Christmas service will be shown at a similar time and it usually lasts for around an hour and 15 minutes.
UK-based viewers will have the option to watch Together at Christmas live on ITV1 or to stream it at a time of their choosing via ITV’s streaming service ITVX.
However, if you’re a UK citizen but are going to likely be on holiday or working overseas during the 2024 festive season, you can still watch Together at Christmas as you would at home, but with the use of a VPN. This is a piece of software which allows you to change your IP address to make it look like you're accessing streaming services from any country in the world.
Our sister site, TechRadar, has tested all of the major VPN services and they rate Nord as the absolute best. They say, "It’s compatible with all of your devices, supports most streaming services, and ranks among the fastest. You can even install it on devices like an Amazon Fire TV Stick, Apple TV, Xbox, and PlayStation. So for a one-stop-shop, you can’t go wrong with Express."
If you've never installed a VPN before, don't worry, it's quick and easy. Just follow these three steps:
- Download and install the VPN following NordVPN's easy-to-follow instructions.
- Once you've installed your VPN, open the app and select your server location as anywhere in the UK.
- With your VPN installed and server location set to UK, you can now watch Together at Christmas online.
Who could attend Kate Middleton's carol service?
The future Queen's new video shared a tantalising glimpse at the beautiful invitations for her 2024 Together at Christmas service, but not who they are being sent to. Because of this, we don't know for sure yet who will be on the guest-list, though Kate does often go on to share more videos in the lead-up to the service which show guests receiving their invitations.
Looking back at the previous three carol concerts, though, it seems very likely that we will see Prince William, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis there. They also tend to be joined by plenty of other royals, including Duchess Sophie, Princesses Eugenie and Beatrice and Zara and Mike Tindall.
King Charles and Queen Camilla have attended Kate’s carol service in the past too - as have members of the extended Royal Family including Prince Michael of Kent, his daughter Gabriella and his son and daughter-in-law Lord and Lady Frederick Windsor. When it comes to non-royal attendees the guest list tends to be full of a mix of well-known British public figures and private citizens. The choice of invites often corresponds with the theme of the service and the communities being paid tribute to.
What will the focus of the 2024 Together at Christmas carol service be?
Each year there's a particular focus for the Princess of Wales's carol service and according to Town&Country, Kensington Palace has declared that the 2024 service will reflect upon "love and empathy" in the "most difficult" of times.
"This year’s service provides a moment to reflect upon the importance of love and empathy, and how much we need each other, especially in the most difficult times of our lives," they shared. "The service will shine a light on individuals from all over the UK who have shown love, kindness and empathy towards others in their communities."
Whilst the service will be focusing on individuals from across the country, the overall focus is likely very meaningful for the Princess of Wales personally too.
In a heartfelt message shared in September alongside a video filmed by Will Warr, the Princess of Wales confirmed she had completed her cancer treatment. She went on to describe how during this intensely challenging year she has been reminded of something important.
"This time has above all reminded William and me to reflect and be grateful for the simple yet important things in life, which so many of us often take for granted. Of simply loving and being loved," she said.
