Kate Middleton Will Once Again Host Her Annual Christmas Carol Concert

The old saying goes that the show must go on, and Kate Middleton plans to do just that. The Princess of Wales hosted a meeting at Windsor Castle on Tuesday to plan for the fourth iteration of her annual carol concert, which airs in the U.K. on Christmas Eve.

The confirmation that she will again host her Together at Christmas event, which honors different community organizations, could serve as something of a bookend to a year of uncertainty. Earlier this month, the princess shared that she had completed chemotherapy following her cancer diagnosis. She last hosted the event in December 2023 and was seen walking to church with the royal family, as is tradition, on Christmas Day. Weeks into the new year, however, Kensington Palace announced that Kate had “undergone a planned abdominal surgery” and would be hospitalized for a period, with extended recovery that would make her unlikely to return to public royal duties until April at the earliest.

Speculation about the princess’s whereabouts followed for the next several months, with reports of even palace insiders being surprised by Kate’s health news, a botched photo editing brouhaha, and, finally in March, a video from Kate sharing that she had been diagnosed with cancer.

After a few appearances in recent months, at Trooping the Colour and the Wimbledon finals, Kate is officially back at work. Tuesday’s meeting was logged in the official Court Circular in typically terse language: “The Princess of Wales, Joint Patron, the Royal Foundation of The Prince and Princess of Wales, this morning held a Meeting at Windsor Castle.”

Last week, she hosted a meeting at Windsor for her signature early childhood initiative, receiving an update on the project’s progress and activity as she revs up her royal work once more. Husband Prince William recently stressed that though Kate’s treatment has concluded, “there is still a long way to go.”

The princess’s Christmas carol concert, which has been taped at Westminster Abbey in the past, is an opportunity for her to spotlight not only high-profile musical guests but special communities and individuals. Last year, she invited several home health visitors, preschool teachers, and midwives to be in the audience as a thank you for their work supporting her early childhood initiative.