Princess Kate was all smiles as Jason Manford took center stage at the Royal Variety Show.

The 43-year-old princess, who shared her cancer remission news in January, dazzled on the red carpet at Royal Albert Hall, donning a stunning dark green velvet dress.

The Royal Variety Performance, a highlight of the festive season, is scheduled to air tonight on ITV at 7 p.m., even though the event took place in November.

Kate complemented her beautifully seasonal attire with matching Manolo Blahnik shoes and sparkling Cartier jewelry. Despite her high heels, the mother of three gracefully bent down to greet the evening’s furriest attendee.

Both she and Prince William were seen enthusiastically participating in the event, even singing the national anthem to kick off the evening’s performances.

It comes after a rocky week for the Royal family after a damning trove of 300,000 documents from the so-called Epstein Files were released, including one that depicted Andrew, who was stripped of his royal titles last month, sprawling across the laps of five elegantly dressed women.

This year, there will be performances from the likes of Paddington: The Musical, Westlife as well as a 40th anniversary display by the West End and Paris casts of Les Miserables, who will have a whopping 400 performers.

Jessie J will also take the stage to sing her new track ‘I’ll Never Know Why’ off her forthcoming album. 

Comic Jason Manford kicked off the show with a couple of jokes about his children being middle class and him having been from a working class background.

He joked that he had created ‘monsters’ who refused to ‘smashed avocado’ because it was warm but it was in fact mushy peas – which lucky got a laugh from the Princess of Wales. 

At one point, he also made fun of them for wanting ‘crudités’ at a picnic, and laughing at houses that ‘stuck together’. 

Prince William and herself could be spotted getting into the performance and belting out the national anthem to kick start the performances

William was dapper in evening dress as the couple stepped out for a rare joint ‘black-tie’ event that was hosted by comic Jason Manford

The princess, 43, who announced she is in remission from cancerin January, was radiant as she walked the red carpet at Royal Albert Hall wearing a gorgeous, dark green velvet gown

Kate paired her delightfully festive dress with matching Manolo Blahnik pumps, but the high heels didn’t stop the mother-of-three from gracefully bending to greet the furriest guest of the evening

The princess was also seen sharing an emotional moment with Jessie J as the pair discussed their individual cancer battles

At this year’s event, William and Kate joined a slew of famous faces at Royal Albert Hall for the annual charity event such as Stephen Fry. 

The variety show is aimed at families and features acts from the worlds of music, dance, comedy and other specialities. 

Footage from before the event showed the Princess sweetly petting the dog perched at the feet of an attendee, as she appeared to forget that cameras were trained on her. 

The princess was also seen sharing an emotional moment with Jessie J as the pair discussed their individual cancer battles.

Kate revealed earlier this year that she was in remission from an undisclosed form of cancer, while the 37-year-old pop star underwent a mastectomy in June as part of her treatment for breast cancer.

Jessie, who is continuing to undergo cancer treatment and was forced to cancel her US tour dates in order to have surgery, appeared on Good Morning America recently and explained how she broke protocol to hug Kate at the Royal Variety Performance.

Speaking to host Maggie Rulli on December 5, Jessie recalled her conversation with the Princess.

‘She just said, ‘Thank you, I know you’ve gone through a tough time.’ I said, ‘I know you have too’,’ the singer revealed.

‘I just said, ‘I want to acknowledge that, mum to mum, cancer survivor to cancer survivor. I see you, and I feel you. Can I give you a hug?”

Traditionally, people are not allowed to touch a member of the Royal Family – but Kate gave permission to Jessie to embrace her, showcasing her care and compassion.

Jason Manford said of his hosting duties: ‘The Royal Variety Performance is always such a spectacular night, so I’m genuinely chuffed to be asked back as host. The last time I did it was in 2020 – which, if you remember, was during the pandemic. I had a virtual audience… was like doing a gig in front of a Curry’s window!..

‘Nothing says showbiz quite like getting heckled by someone who’s accidentally left their mic on while eating crisps. So I’m very excited to see some actual real-life human faces in the audience this time!’