ZapGossip

Prince William and Duchess Catherine to attend Royal Variety Performance

Prince William and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, will attend the Royal Variety Performance on Friday (24.11.17).
The 35-year-old royal and his wife – who is currently expecting the pair’s third child – have been announced by Kensington Palace as the royal couple who will attend the entertainment extravaganza being held at the Palladium Theatre in London later this week.
The Royal Variety Performance is an annual event held in aid of the Royal Variety Charity – of which Queen Elizabeth is the royal patron – and all money raised from the evening helps hundreds of entertainers throughout the UK, who need help and assistance as a result of old age, ill-health, or hard times.
Members of the royal family take it in turns to attend the event, and for Prince William and Duchess Catherine – who already have four-year-old Prince George and two-year-old Princess Charlotte together – this year will mark their second outing, after having made their debut at the event in 2014.
This year, the performance will be hosted by comedian and actress Miranda Hart, with musicians including The Killers, Louis Tomlinson, Seal, James Blunt, The Script, Michael Ball and Alfie Boe, and Paloma Faith all set to take to the stage.
‘Frasier’ actor Kelsey Grammer will also be performing at the event, as will the casts of ‘Big Fish’, ‘Annie’, and ’42nd Street’, West End divas Beverley Knight, Cassidy Janson and Amber Riley, ‘Britain’s Got Talent’ winner Tokio Myers, and comedians Jason Manford and Tom Allen.
Both before and after the show, William and Catherine will have the chance to meet with the performers.
Previously, host Miranda said she was excited to be able to "smash a glass ceiling" as the first female solo host of the Royal Variety Performance.
She said: "If you don’t mind me I am just going to smash a glass ceiling and be the first woman to host the Royal Variety. That felt good!
"It’s thrilling for me because of that, and because I am hugely proud to be part of such an important event in our comedy and variety heritage as the Royal Variety Performance.
"The young-wannabe-comedian me who watched the show every year would be just as excited to hear that grown-up me is going to be hosting – only I’ll be doing it without the 1970s pudding bowl haircut that made me look like a young male monk!"