It was a double date night for the Prince and Princess of Wales and Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel at the Royal Variety Performance in London on Thursday evening.
The future monarchs of the United Kingdom and Sweden were united for a festive evening of entertainment, continuing the annual tradition of royal attendance at one of the UK’s most prestigious entertainment extravaganzas.
Among the performers at this year’s event were Cher, Hannah Waddingham with The Eno Chorus, Paloma Faith, Rick Astley, Melanie C and Ben Forster, the Welsh Guards Band, and a musical tribute to Disney’s centenary, with songs from Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, The Lion King, Hercules and Frozen.
The royals met with the performers afterwards, and Paloma Faith told reporters: “I was just saying how relaxed they [William and Catherine] are and warm. They just put you at ease, which is a skill in itself, isn’t it? Not everyone can do that, royal or not.”
The Royal Variety Performance is a fundraiser for the Royal Variety Charity, which supports aged, infirm or impoverished entertainers as needed.
The Royal Variety Charity has been supported by an unbroken chain of royal patrons since King George V became its first in 1921. Each successive monarch has been a life patron of the charity, with King Charles III succeeding in 2022.
At the time, King George decreed that either the monarch or another senior member of the Royal Family would attend the Royal Variety Performance every year.
On social media, Kensington Palace shared: “What a show! A huge thanks to all the performers and everyone behind-the-scenes for making the #RoyalVarietyPerformance happen.
“The joy this evening brings reminds us why its continued support for the arts and entertainment industry is so important ??”.
The Swedish Royal Court shared a video by the Prince and Princess of Wales to their own social media accounts and commented on the Wales’s video saying, “Thanks for a lovely show!”
It wasn’t the first joint engagement for the two couples on Thursday. Earlier in the day, William and Catherine welcomed their Swedish counterparts to Windsor Castle for an audience.
Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel are currently in the midst of a three-day visit to the UK, carrying out a programme related to strengthening the ties between nations, and highlighting cooperation in “security and defence, the green transition, innovation and research, and increased exchanges within the business sector,” according to the Swedish Royal Court.
The Royal Variety Performance will air on ITV on 17 December.
