Kate Middleton and Prince Louis, six, share a tender mother-son moment in first glimpse of the royals inside the Princess of Wales’s ‘Together At Christmas’ carol concert

The Princess of Wales and Prince Louis shared a sweet moment during their first glimpse of the royal family during her Christmas carol concert ‘Together At Christmas’, which airs on Christmas Eve.

Kate, 42, performed her fourth concert at Westminster Abbey in the heart of London early this month, but details about the service itself have been kept tightly under wraps.

She is gradually returning to public duties after undergoing preventive chemotherapy treatment for cancer early this year.

Ahead of the full broadcast on ITV on Christmas Eve, Kate has released another sneak peek of the service, featuring British actress Sophie Okonedo reading a poem, The Kindness Of Trees.

As the actress, 56, read the poem, the camera panned to the audience to show the royals listening intently.

In a heartwarming moment, the youngest Welsh brother, six-year-old Prince Louis, appeared to look at his mother Kate to gauge her reaction.

Smiling at him, the two shared a loving look before continuing to listen to the poem.

Princess Charlotte, nine, meanwhile, appeared to be following the poem on her Order Of Service sheet closely, smiling as she did so.

Beside her, Prince William and Prince George, 11, were focused on listening to Sophie, as the Hotel Rwanda star read: ‘The tree roared in the wind in the dead midwinter night / ‘The tree blew hello, goodbye, as each child was sleeping in bed, the tree was singing a lullaby.’

Behind the Wales family sat Princess Anne’s daughter Zara Tindall, who looked stunning in a velvet suit, while the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester sat behind William.

Beside them was George Gilman, who is married to the Gloucesters’ daughter, Lady Rose Windsor.

Lady Rose was not in attendance, but Gilman was joined by their daughter Lyla, 14, amid the beautifully decorated abbey.

The first glimpse of the service featured Gregory Porter, who performed Do You Hear What I Hear? in front of a packed audience in the beautiful Anglican church.

As he performed the Christmas carol – written by Noël Regney and Gloria Shayne in 1962 as a plea to end the Cuban Missile Crisis – the camera panned to show an audience engrossed in his rendition.

Among them was British actress Hannah Waddingham, who smiled at the performance in a floral dress and deep burgundy jacket.

Porter is one of the performers at the service, which will also feature Paloma Faith and Olivia Dean. And the stories of members of the invited congregation are shared.

The service, produced by The Royal Foundation, aims to ‘celebrate the many people who support those in need – individuals who have inspired, advised, comforted and, above all, shown that love is the greatest gift we can receive’.

ITV said: ‘This theme is inspired by the Christmas story, which encourages us to think about the experiences of others and the important human need to give and receive empathy.’

The concert marked the first time the Wales family had been seen together in public since their appearance at Trooping the Colour, the King’s birthday parade, in June.

Kate was joined by her husband the Prince of Wales and their three children, Prince George, 11, Princess Charlotte, nine, and Prince Louis, six, to present ‘Together At Christmas’.

She was also joined by the wider Middleton family, from supportive mum Carole to sister Pippa, 41, and brother James, 37.

The Princess, who has kept every aspect of the service ‘hands on’ and held regular planning meetings in Windsor, arrived on her own at 4pm to tour the abbey and oversee last-minute arrangements before walking around to do other to greet guests.

When singer Paloma Faith expressed her condolences for the princess, who underwent chemotherapy this year, Kate, 42, replied: “I didn’t know last year that this would be the year I just had.”

She continued, “The unplanned… but I think a lot of people have had such challenging times this year and many who are here today….”

The princess, who married Prince William in 2011 and attended the late queen’s funeral at Westminster Abbey in 2022, said the building held “so many memories” for her.

As she appeared to talk about the Royal Ballet soloists performing at the service, Kate said she enlisted Prince Louis, six, to keep it a surprise for her daughter Princess Charlotte, nine.

Speaking to Faith, Kate said she asked Louis: ‘Can you keep a secret, otherwise it won’t be a surprise to Charlotte, who loves ballet dancing?’

She said Louis agreed. “He’s been keeping the secret for about two weeks now.” “Very challenging,” Paloma said.

“For a six-year-old,” Kate replied. ‘And then this morning he said, ‘Mommy, can I please tell her I’m bursting.’ I had been dropped off and he really wanted to tell her. I think – hopefully – he saved it.”

Charlotte later looked excited when she saw the ballet dancers, suggesting her younger brother had kept his word.

Kate then walked to the north transept and knelt down to speak to scouts from the 44th Bury (Robot) reconnaissance group from Bury, Manchester.

As she walked through the abbey, she greeted several guests and stopped at the ship to greet Chris Hoy and his family.

The Olympic cycling champion, who has terminal cancer, told her he had never been to Westminster Abbey before.

Kate, who shook hands with Hoy’s young son Callum and daughter Chloe, who was dressed in a red coat with a black bow by Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen, commented on Chloe’s sparkling dress and said: ‘I was going to wear glitter too!’

At the ship, Kate stopped to talk to 100-year-old D-Day veteran Bernard Morgan, who attended the service as an ambassador for the Royal British Legion.

Royal Carols: Together At Christmas airs on ITV1 and ITVX on Christmas Eve at 7.30pm.