The Earl and Countess of Wessex attend glittering Royal Variety Performance

The Earl and Countess of Wessex and Forfar have attended Royal Variety for the first time. This is also the first time this event has been held since the death of Queen Elizabeth II. 

Their Royal Highnesses arrived at the Royal Albert Hall, behind Prince Albert Gate of Kensington Park, in the evening of Thursday, 1st December. 

They were welcomed by residents of Brinsworth House, an elderly care facility that is one of the charities supported by the event. 

They were gifted a copy of the evening’s programme and a bouquet of flowers for the Countess. The programme featured all of the acts of the evening, as well as a tribute to the late Queen Elizabeth II, who has been the organisation’s sole patron for the last 70 years. 

The bouquet of white flowers also included foliage picked on that same morning at Brinsworth House gardens, and was delivered by two little girls in their sparkly dresses. 

The Earl and Countess also stopped to chat with Ms Joan Williams, a Brinsworth House resident who shares a very special connection to the Royal Family, as she was part of the crew that shot footage and photographs between 1968 and 1969 for BBC’s landmark documentary “Royal Family”. 

Some of her photographs are now a part of the permanent exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery of London, of which the now-Princess of Wales is patron. 

Once the Royal couple took their seats, the performance and its recording started. The show was hosted by Lee Mack and included appearances from singers Gary Barlow, Ellie Goulding, George Ezra and Tom Ryder, actress Rita Wilson, comedian Axel Blake (the winner of this year’s edition of Britain’s Got Talent) and many many more. 

It will air for the public on ITV1 and ITVX on the 20th of December, just 4 days before the same television chain will also air the Princess of Wales’ Christmas concert. 

The Royal Variety Performance is a star-studded gala performance that includes acts from different personalities, and it supports the Royal Variety Charity, which works with former employees of the entertainment industry, offering them help if they need it. 

The event is usually attended by members of the Royal Family, with the duty usually falling on the late Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip, the now-King Charles and Queen Camilla, Prince William and the Princess of Wales, or the Princess Royal. Now that the line of succession to the throne has changed and many members of the family are no longer considered actively working Royals, the Earl and Countess of Wessex and Forfar have stepped up to undertake this duty, and there is little doubt that they will become part of the royal couples that rotate through the years for attendance.