Princess Of Wales shares an emotional hug with Jessie J at the Royal Variety Performance after battling through separate cancer journeys
This is the moment the Princess of Wales shared a warm embrace with Jessie J after battling their own cancer journey.
William and Catherine, both 43, joined a host of stars at London’s Royal Albert Hall on Wednesday night for the annual Royal Variety Performance.
The royal couple greeted the performers after the show and Catherine shared an emotional moment with the 37-year-old singer.
The Princess of Wales announced in January that she was in remission from an undisclosed form of cancer, while Jessie also underwent mastectomy surgery as part of her breast cancer treatment in June.
Jessie told her: ‘I’ve just had breast cancer. ‘I just want to hug you, cancer really looks at life from a different perspective.’
Breaking away from the traditional etiquette of meeting the royal family, Jessie placed her hand on Catherine’s shoulder before the two women embraced and described the shock of receiving a cancer diagnosis.
This is the moment the Princess of Wales shared a warm embrace with Jessie J after battling their own cancer journey
William and Catherine, both 43, joined a host of stars at London’s Royal Albert Hall on Wednesday night for the annual Royal Variety Performance.
The singer performed his new song I’ll Never Know Why, which he wrote for his bodyguard Dave, who died by suicide in 2021.
Catherine told him: ‘What a moving song.’ Responding, Jessie said: ‘This is a very important conversation. I miss him and I want to help others.’
Speaking later, Jessie revealed that she purposely wore a black hoodie and joggers to represent someone who was feeling depressed at home.
‘They don’t want to get up in the morning, put on a stylish dress, or put on make-up. They’re just wearing what’s comfortable on the couch.’
The singer said William asked her if she wanted to come together to encourage open conversations about mental health and combat stigma.
‘He would love to include me,’ he said. ‘They care and know how important it is to share the message.’
The performance marked the sixth time William and Catherine have appeared in the show together, and the princess’s first since her recovery from cancer.
Kate recently said about her battle with cancer: ‘You kind of put on a brave face, you stoic your way through treatment, treatments are done, then you say ‘I can go on, I can get back to normal’ but actually the next stage after that is really, really hard.’
The Princess of Wales announced in January that she was in remission from an undisclosed form of cancer, while Jessie had a mastectomy in June
Jessie told her: ‘I’ve just had breast cancer. ‘I just want to hug you, cancer really looks at life from a different perspective’
The singer performed his new song I’ll Never Know Why, which he wrote for his bodyguard Dave, who died by suicide in 2021.
Breaking away from the traditional etiquette of meeting royalty, Jessie placed a hand on Catherine’s shoulder.
The hitmaker underwent a mastectomy in June (pictured) as part of her treatment for breast cancer that was caught early, but later informed fans she needed more surgery
The Prince and Princess of Wales appeared to be in a jovial mood as they applauded the performance at the Royal Albert Hall
Prince William and Princess Kate were especially taken with Paddington at the Royal Variety Performance at the Royal Albert Hall tonight.
The Duke of Cambridge even said, ‘Your sandwich looks lovely,’ while asking the beloved bear if he could shake his hand.
William spoke to opera singer Katherine Jenkins
In the downstairs bar, the prince chatted to Celebrity Traitors star Sir Stephen Fry, where William revealed his entire family is set for the BBC’s latest series.
William and Catherine looked very cheerful as they arrived at the event this evening.
The princess dazzled in a velvet evening gown, matching heels and a dazzling collection of jewelery
The Princess was presented with a bouquet of flowers after arriving at the Royal Albert Hall.
Describing the cancer diagnosis as ‘life-changing’ and the treatment and recovery as a ‘rollercoaster’, the Princess talked about the importance of the holistic ‘mind, body and soul’ approach.
The Royal Variety Performance was also a big moment for Jessie.
Although the singer canceled her tour to go under the knife, she announced last month that doctors had postponed her second cancer surgery.
Jessie recently shared the heartbreaking moment she ‘sobbed’ over the scars from her mastectomy surgery.
In a touching interview with Sunday Times’ Culture MagazineJessie shared that she burst into tears when looking at her scars after surgery.
Doctors told the singer that she would not need radiotherapy or chemotherapy because the cancer was caught ‘early’, but due to the size of the mass in her breast, a full mastectomy was performed instead of lumpectomy.
He said: ‘The other night. My mom was massaging my breasts for me because I can’t touch the scars. And I started crying, ‘I can’t believe this is happening.’ She said, ‘I wish it were me,’ and then I’m crying, she’s crying… I’m so glad it wasn’t her.’
Jessie added: ‘People think once you clear everything up it’s over. But I have another surgery [to improve the symmetry of her implant with her other breast] and I need to heal, so I need to handle the rest of this year.’
Jessie said her beloved two-year-old son Sky was the ‘light of her life’ during her battle with cancer.
The royal couple’s trip marked a rare joint ‘black tie’ evening after William attended the Diplomatic Corps reception at Windsor Castle last night alone.
The Princess, who continues her slow and measured return to public life while recovering from cancer, was the picture of elegance in her green velvet evening gown, while William looked dapper in his black tie.
Catherine wore the emerald dress, thought to be from German luxury fashion brand Talbot Runhof, once worn by the late Queen Elizabeth II. She paired it with elegant Greville chandelier earrings, favored by Elizabeth and produced by Cartier for eleven years.
The Royal Variety Charity helps those who have worked professionally in the entertainment industry and in 2024 launched a dedicated team to help those who need help and support with mental health issues, a cause dear to William and Catherine.
This year’s show was hosted by Jason Manford and included a special performance of Paddington The Musical, which opened at the Savoy Theater at the beginning of the month.
Other highlights included the 40th anniversary celebration of the stage show Les Misérables.
prince and princess He spent about 40 minutes talking through all the demonstrations taking place.
This included a special meet and greet with Paddington Bear, who opened the show with a song from Tom Fletcher’s new musical.
Walking up to the famous bear holding a marmalade sandwich in his hand, William asked: “Can I shake his hand?” he said. Your sandwich looks very nice.’
The bear, silent without the actor offstage, nodded as the prince continued: ‘The way you sang was completely incredible, it was magnificent.’
Paddington then tipped his hat to the couple and William pointed to the sandwich and said: ‘It looks delicious.’
In the downstairs bar, the prince chatted to Celebrity Traitors star Sir Stephen Fry, where William revealed his entire family is set for his latest BBC series.
“I’m glad to see you outside your robes,” said the prince. ‘We love it. ‘All the kids watched it.’
Meanwhile, Catherine leaned over to pet Hurricane the dog, who was performing on stage with his handler Adrian Stoica, and it was said to be the dog’s last show.
Christopher Biggins asked the princess if she had taken her children to the pantomime and was delighted when she told him they had gone to a local pantomime in Windsor.
Actress Su Pollard was more interested in Catherine’s locks: ‘I like her hair, it looks much lighter.’
The princess replied: ‘It used to be brown, but it faded in the sunlight.’
