Kate Middleton makes biggest appearence since chemotherapy at Christmas carol service: ‘Didn’t know this year was…’

2024 ended for Kate Middleton with a heartwarming Christmas carol service at Westminster Abbey last week. She was joined by Prince William and their three children. However, this year’s event was different as it was her most significant public appearance since finishing chemotherapy in September after a challenging year of health struggles.

“I know how hard it would be to do something like this, putting yourself out there when you may not be feeling 100 percent,” Jenny Powell, a community worker from Abergavenny, Wales, who attended the event, told PEOPLE.

Despite looking her ussual self in a festive red Alexander McQueen coat and sporting her signature blowout, Kate’s year-long battle with cancer revealed a subtle but profound change in her demeanor.

British pop star Paloma Faith, who performed at the event, asked Kate how she was doing. “I didn’t know this year was going to be the year that I’ve just had,” Kate told her, as quoted by PEOPLE.

The Christmas story encourages us to consider the experiences: Kate Middleton

This year’s concert is designed to celebrate the support people give to one another, especially as they struggle through difficult times, a theme that may have particular resonance for the princess after abdominal surgery and chemotherapy forced her to step back from public duties for much of 2024.

Kate alluded to this in a letter thanking the 1,600 people invited to attend the event because of their efforts to help others in their communities.

“The Christmas story encourages us to consider the experiences and feelings of others,” Kate wrote. “It also reflects our own vulnerabilities and reminds us of the importance of giving and receiving empathy, as well as just how much we need each other in spite of our differences.”

Kate has hosted the carol service since it began in 2021, celebrating the work of doctors, nurses and emergency workers as Britain returned to normal following the COVID-19 pandemic. The princess wowed the audience, playing the piano to accompany Scottish singer Tom Walker on his song “For Those Who Can’t Be Here,” inspired by the loss and separation caused by the pandemic.

The order of service Friday will also feature a cover image by British artist Charlie Mackesy, who wrote and illustrated “The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse.’’ The 2019 book highlighted the importance of kindness through the unlikely friendship of the four title characters as they search for the boy’s home.