Kate Middleton Quietly Invited Children from a Special Cause to Her Carol Service

12/23/2024 02:16 PM

A Scouts volunteer said the group was treated "almost like royalty" by palace staff

Kate Middleton tapped some special helpers for her ​​Together at Christmascarol service — children from the Scouts group she backs as president! 

On Dec. 23, Princess Kate's team posted photos taken by Scouts during her fourth annual Together at Christmas concert at Westminster Abbey on Dec. 6. The Princess of Wales, 42, supports the scouting association as Joint President and welcomed scouts from around the U.K. to the carol service as volunteers this year. 

"We gave our @scouts volunteers a camera for the day of the Together at Christmas Carol Service...This is how they captured it," Princess Kate's team wrote on X on Dec. 23, sharing photos snapped from behind the scenes and a handwritten thank you card starring one of the shots.

"Tune in to the Together at Christmas Carol Service on @ITV and @ITVX this Christmas Eve," a second message said, along with pictures of guests in attendance and a Christmas tree. 

We gave our @scouts volunteers a camera for the day of the Together at Christmas Carol Service...

This is how they captured it 📸 pic.twitter.com/5gMK2oHf74

— The Prince and Princess of Wales (@KensingtonRoyal) December 23, 2024

Related: Kate Middleton and Prince William Share Poignant Christmas Card with George, Charlotte and Louis After 'Hardest' Year

Like last year, the Scouts supported Princess Kate's holiday concert at Westminster Abbey earlier this month, where over 30 scouts and volunteers came together from Bury, Belfast, Surrey, London and Manchester. A statement shared to the Scouts' website said the young people "had special responsibility for candle lighting (perhaps because of our reputation as skilful fire lighters) as well as for taking photos of the event from a young person's point of view." A volunteer named Paul said the snaps were captured with "old fashioned film cameras" — a choice potentially connected to Princess Kate's personal photography hobby.

"This was a very memorable and enjoyable event. Our Scouts appreciated being involved in this service, and all of us were treated almost like royalty by the Palace staff. We were led directly into the Abbey, where Scouts were encouraged to take photos using old fashioned film cameras.  We'll hopefully see the results of our photographers' efforts! Thanks to all the staff who were very kind and accommodating," Paul, a volunteer with the 1st Byfleet, was quoted as saying.

Tune in to the Together at Christmas Carol Service on @ITV and @ITVX this Christmas Eve pic.twitter.com/U6QhVs3Vq0

— The Prince and Princess of Wales (@KensingtonRoyal) December 23, 2024

Groups included in the holiday concert were the 44th Bury (R.O.B.O.T.) Scouts from the Bury and Ramsbottom District and the 1st West Byfleet Scout Group in Surrey, which are celebrating their centenaries. A few national volunteers also attended the event, and Michael Marks, General Secretary for the International Forum of Jewish Scouts, said the service left an impression. 

"It was a wonderful occasion and a real honor to be there," Marks said.

Princess Kate was a Brownie alongside her sister Pippa Middleton when she was a young girl, and her relationship with the Scouts came full-circle when she became the organization's joint president in 2020. The Princess of Wales shares the royal role with Queen Elizabeth's cousin, Prince Edward, the Duke of Kent, and previously mentioned that she'd like her kids to get involved with the group, too.

The Princess of Wales also sent the Scouts home from the fourth iteration of her Together at Christmas carol service home with a little something special — Christmas trees that were brought in to decorate the ancient abbey.

"Several of the Christmas trees from Westminster Abbey were gifted to [Scout] Groups on a first come, first served basis, and delivered after the service in time for end of term Christmas celebrations," the statement explained. 

Related: Inside Kate Middleton's Carol Service, According to an Attendee: 'After a Hard Year, She Put on a Brave Face' (Exclusive)

The festive firs weren't any regular evergreens, either, as the concert's Order of Service revealed that they were donated by King Charles from Windsor Great Park, home to Windsor Castle and near where Princess Kate, Prince William and their kids Prince George, 11, Princess Charlotte, 9, and Prince Louis, 6, live.

Continuing tradition, several members of the royal family were among the 1,600 guests in attendance at Princess Kate's Together at Christmas concert. The Princess of Wales launched the event with The Royal Foundation in 2021 as a way to thank those across the U.K. who went the extra mile for the communities during the COVID pandemic and has held it ever since.

Kensington Palace previously said that the carol service would again welcome those who went above and beyond for their communities and others who experienced difficult times this year. Kate poignantly invited families and survivors from Southport, the site of a mass stabbing at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in July which three children were killed. She and Prince William later visited the grieving community, and PEOPLE understands the trip emphasized that those affected are not forgotten.

Princess Kate emotionally chose love and empathy as the themes for the latest iteration, and the service was especially memorable as her most major event since she shared on Sept. 9 that she completed chemotherapy. The Princess of Wales was outside of the limelight for almost the entirety of 2024 to prioritize her health after sharing in March that she was undergoing treatment for cancer, which followed the February announcement that King Charles was receiving cancer treatment. (The King's treatment is thought to be ongoing, and palace sources confirmed that it will continue into 2025.) 

The Together at Christmas concert featured performances from Paloma Faith, Gregory Porter, Olivia Dean, Royal Ballet dancers and more, plus a reading from Prince William. The service was filmed for the broadcast Royal Carols: Together at Christmas, which will air on ITV and ITVX on Dec. 24, Christmas Eve, at 7:30 p.m. in the U.K.

In a further personal touch, Princess Kate recorded a voiceover to introduce the TV broadcast.

'It is love which is the greatest gift we can receive. Not just at Christmas, but every day of our lives'

Watch Royal Carols: Together at Christmas on @ITV and @ITVX on Christmas Eve at 7:30pm@KensingtonRoyalpic.twitter.com/YAwixhS1EV

— ITV (@ITV) December 22, 2024

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"Welcome to our Together at Christmas carol service here at Westminster Abbey. Christmas is one of my favorite times of the year. It is a time for presents, tinsel and mince pies, but it's also a time to slow down and reflect on the deeper things that connect us all," she said in audio revealed over the weekend. "It is when we stop and take ourselves away from the pressures of daily life that we find the space to live our lives with an open heart, with love, kindness and forgiveness, so much of what the Christmas spirit is all about."

Step inside the royals' holiday traditions with PEOPLE's Special Edition: Christmas at the Palace: A Royal Family Album.