Inside William and Kate’s special Christmas with George, Charlotte and Louis

The Duke of Sussex has spoken of the “profound impact” launching a schools programme ahead of the Invictus Games had on him at an event in Canada.

Harry travelled solo to launch the programme for the 2025 event, which is due to be held in Vancouver and Whistler in February.

He marked the countdown by joining students at Seaforth Armoury, a historic military facility, where he launched an online programme to introduce the Invictus Games into schools.

“Seeing them learn about the Invictus Games has had a profound impact on me because this is where Invictus starts to go even wider outside of the Invictus community, into schools in Canada and hopefully around the world,” he said.

Harry, a former British Army captain, launched the Invictus Games in 2014 as an international sports tournament for injured and wounded service personnel and returned veterans.

Addressing the crowd, the Duke also spoke of his emotions in seeing returned service personnel at the Games’ opening ceremony.

“You need to understand what that means to them because that can be a life-altering moment,” he said.

“There’s resilience that has got them there. There’s teamwork that has managed to get them to the starting line, and there’s courage in getting them to that point.

“For most of them, for some of them, it’s very hard to walk into a busy room, and here they are walking into a stadium of tens of thousands of people.”

During what was perhaps the lowest point in her reign, the late Queen delivered a sobering speech famously labelling 1992 her “annus horribilis”.

Now – over 30 years later – her grandson has had what he believes to be his own ‘annus horribilis’.

William has spoken candidly about the royal family’s major health scares, saying 2024 has “probably been the hardest year in my life” and a “dreadful” experience.

My colleague Athena Stavrou reports:

The Princess of Wales will host her annual Christmas carol concert, with the service reflecting on “how much we need each other, especially in the most difficult times of our lives”.

The princess set her sights on being able to stage the Together At Christmas service in 2024 despite the health challenges she has faced, and it forms part of her gradual return to public duties after finishing chemotherapy treatment in the summer.

My colleague Jabed Ahmed has the full story:

The Prince and Princess of Wales are likely to put on a particularly special Christmas for Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis this year.

The royal family have endured what William described as a “dreadful” year, with both Kate and the King battling cancer, so it is looking probable that the royal couple will be putting their all into festive celebrations with their children.

The prince has stepped up admirably as both his wife and father face major health scares, admitting that 2024 has “probably been the hardest year in my life”.

As she gradually returns to public duties following her chemotherapy treatment, it has been confirmed that the princess will be hosting her annual Christmas carol concert at Westminster Abbey on 6 December.

The whole family may be set to soon pick their Christmas tree together after they were spotted doing so from the Christmas Tree Shop in Berkshire last year, which is near to their home Adelaide Cottage in Windsor.

All of the Waleses are also expected to spend Christmas and New Year at Sandringham House along with the rest of the royals, as is tradition, staying at their country home Anmer Hall in Norfolk.

The Queen has been left heartbroken after the death of her beloved dog and “much-loved companion” Beth.

Buckingham Palace posted on social media alongside a montage of images of the Queen’s pet: “A sad farewell to Beth, the Queen’s much-loved companion from Battersea Dogs and Cats Home who brought such joy, whether on walkies, helping on official duties or curled up by the fire.”

My colleague Jabed Ahmed reports:

On Christmas Day 2021, Jaswant Singh Chail, 21, climbed into the castle grounds with a crossbow and later declared “I’m here to kill the Queen”.

He was jailed for nine years.

On the day he got into the castle grounds, Star Wars fanatic Chail sent a homemade video to family and friends on WhatsApp in which he apologised for what he was about to do and called himself “Darth Chailus”.

He wore dark clothes and a metal mask as he adopted the persona of a Star Wars villain for the video.

In the clip, the defendant, who has Sikh Indian heritage, said he was seeking revenge for the Amritsar massacre in 1919, when British troops opened fire on thousands of Indians and left up to 1,500 dead.