Princess Kate beamed as Jason Manford took the reins of the Royal Variety Show with performances from Jessie J and Stephen Fry.
The Princess of Wales, 43, who announced she is in remission from cancer in January, was radiant as she walked the red carpet at Royal Albert Hall wearing a gorgeous, dark green velvet gown.
The Royal Variety Performance is airing tonight on ITV at 7pm as the countdown to Christmas continues, although it was filmed back in November.
Kate paired her delightfully festive dress with matching Manolo Blahnik pumps and diamond accessories from Cartier.
Prince William, who also looked dapper in evening dress, was spotted getting into the performance and belting out the national anthem to kick start the show.
It comes after a rocky week for the Royal family after a damning trove of 300,000 documents from the so-called Epstein Files were released, including one that depicted Andrew, who was stripped of his royal titles last month, sprawling across the laps of five elegantly dressed women.
Jessie J sung a new track titled ‘I’ll Never Know Why’ off her forthcoming album, a an emotional tribute to her late bodyguard and close friend, Dave, who died by suicide years ago.
She came after Stephen Fry performed as his character Lady Bracknell from the 2025 West End production of Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest, discussing all the etiquette dos and don’t, such as playing music out loud on the bus.
He also went on to tease the Prince of Wales’ about his beloved football club Aston Villa saying: ‘Dinner jackets, which is the correct attire for events, dinners, and popping along to watch Aston Villa… lose’.
BBC Radio 4’s Dead Ringers who impersonated a huge selection of celebrities’ tonight most notably mocked President Trump and Keir Starmer, whose very name caused the audience to erupt with boos.
Another spectacular performance celebrated the 40th anniversary of Les Miserables, who had a whopping 400 performers on stage.
Prince William and herself could be spotted getting into the performance and belting out the national anthem to kick start the performances
William was dapper in evening dress as the couple stepped out for a rare joint ‘black-tie’ event that was hosted by comic Jason Manford
Stephen Fry gave a performance dressed as an aristocratic woman discussing all the etiquette dos and don’t, including playing music out loud on and the bus
Keeping in line with tradition, magician Harry Moulding finally took to the stage after winning the 2025 edition of Britain’s Got Talent.
On top of this, Johannes Radebe showcased an extract from the award-winning musical Kinky Boots and America’s Got Talent winners Adrian Stoica and his border collie Hurricane made their British debut with a special choreographed routine.
Early on in the show, Irish boyband Westlife performed some of their greatest hits, leaving fans delighted as Shane Filan, Nicky Byrne and Kian Egan took to the stage.
Sadly band member Mark Feehily was not there after he had to take a step back in February 2024 due to ill health.
But the first performance of the evening came from McFly’s Tom Fletcher, who introduced a sneak peak of Paddington: The Musical where the lovable bear is controlled by a remote puppeteer James Hameed.
Comic Jason Manford kicked off the show with a couple of jokes about his children being middle class and him having been from a working class background.
He joked that he had created ‘monsters’ who refused to ‘smashed avocado’ because it was warm but it was in fact mushy peas – which lucky got a laugh from the Princess of Wales.
At one point, he also made fun of them for wanting ‘crudités’ at a picnic, and laughing at houses that ‘stuck together’.
The variety show is aimed at families and features acts from the worlds of music, dance, comedy and other specialities.
Jessie J sung a new track titled ‘I’ll Never Know Why’ off her forthcoming album. It is a deeply personal and emotional tribute to her late bodyguard and close friend, Dave, who died by suicide years ago
But the first performance of the evening came from McFly’s Tom Fletcher, who introduced a sneak peak of Paddington: The Musical where the lovable bear is controlled by a remote puppeteer James Hameed
Footage from before the event showed the Princess sweetly petting the dog perched at the feet of an attendee, as she appeared to forget that cameras were trained on her.
The princess was also seen sharing an emotional moment with Jessie J as the pair discussed their individual cancer battles.
Kate revealed earlier this year that she was in remission from an undisclosed form of cancer, while the 37-year-old pop star underwent a mastectomy in June as part of her treatment for breast cancer.
Jessie, who is continuing to undergo cancer treatment and was forced to cancel her US tour dates in order to have surgery, appeared on Good Morning America recently and explained how she broke protocol to hug Kate at the Royal Variety Performance.
Speaking to host Maggie Rulli on December 5, Jessie recalled her conversation with the Princess.
‘She just said, ‘Thank you, I know you’ve gone through a tough time.’ I said, ‘I know you have too’,’ the singer revealed.
‘I just said, ‘I want to acknowledge that, mum to mum, cancer survivor to cancer survivor. I see you, and I feel you. Can I give you a hug?”
The princess, 43, who announced she is in remission from cancerin January, was radiant as she walked the red carpet at Royal Albert Hall wearing a gorgeous, dark green velvet gown
Kate paired her delightfully festive dress with matching Manolo Blahnik pumps, but the high heels didn’t stop the mother-of-three from gracefully bending to greet the furriest guest of the evening
The princess was also seen sharing an emotional moment with Jessie J as the pair discussed their individual cancer battles
Traditionally, people are not allowed to touch a member of the Royal Family – but Kate gave permission to Jessie to embrace her, showcasing her care and compassion.
Jason Manford said of his hosting duties: ‘The Royal Variety Performance is always such a spectacular night, so I’m genuinely chuffed to be asked back as host. The last time I did it was in 2020 – which, if you remember, was during the pandemic. I had a virtual audience… was like doing a gig in front of a Curry’s window!..
‘Nothing says showbiz quite like getting heckled by someone who’s accidentally left their mic on while eating crisps. So I’m very excited to see some actual real-life human faces in the audience this time!’
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