Princess of Wales sends emotional Christmas message

Catherine, Princess of Wales, has sent an emotional Christmas message calling for “love, not fear” ahead of her carol concert next week.

The Princess says the Christmas story is about “the importance of giving and receiving empathy” and showing “how much we need each other in spite of our differences”.

The message will be sent in a letter to guests attending the carol concert in Westminster Abbey on 6 December and at 15 regional concerts around the UK.

It’s a letter full of reflections on the importance of supporting one another, accompanying a concert that includes guests who have had a difficult year, such as families affected by the Southport knife attack.

Catherine praises those who care for others in need: “Gentle words or a receptive ear, an arm around an exhausted shoulder, or silently being by someone’s side.”

The Together at Christmas carol service will mark the latest stage in the princess’s return to public life after a year in which she was diagnosed with cancer before receiving chemotherapy treatment, which ended in September.

She says Christmas is a time to “slow down and reflect on the deeper things that connect us all” and to “live our lives with an open heart”.