LONDON: Actors Kate Winslet, Hannah Waddingham, and Chiwetel Ejiofor will be among the stars joining the British royals for the annual Christmas carol service at London’s Westminster Abbey hosted by Kate, the Princess of Wales, her office said on Saturday.
The ‘Together At Christmas’ service, which will be held on Friday and is the fifth such event that Kate has spearheaded, heralds individuals across the country who have given their time to help others, and brings people together to “celebrate love in all its forms”, Kensington Palace said.
Some 1,600 people who have supported people in their communities will join the royals, while the Abbey’s choir will perform carols and there will also be performances by the likes of Waddingham and singer Katie Melua.
Kate’s husband, heir to the throne Prince William, will be among those who deliver readings.
The event will be broadcast on Britain’s ITV on Christmas Eve, while 15 community carol services supported by the couple’s Royal Foundation charitable arm will also be held across Britain during December.
Earlier this month, despite being one of Hollywood’s most celebrated actresses, Kate Winslet’s success did not come easily.
Her career is built on extraordinary determination, commitment, and physical exertion—qualities that sometimes pushed her to the limit.
Like many great performances, hers often come with unseen struggles behind the scenes.
Winslet has openly spoken about two films that left her physically and mentally drained: Sense and Sensibility (1995) and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004). Remarkably, she actually fainted on the sets of both.
During the filming of Sense and Sensibility, the then-19-year-old Winslet was shooting in cold, damp English weather while wearing thin period costumes.
On the 25th anniversary of the film in 2020, the actress (then 45) recalled: “I remember fainting from hypothermia. I opened my eyes and there was Greg [Wise] shoving my feet into his armpits to warm them up, while Emma [Thompson] was at the other end rubbing my hands and saying, ‘You’ll be all right, darling.’”