Hannah Waddingham confirms her status as Queen of Christmas as she embraces William and Kate at the Royal Variety Performance

The Prince and Princess of Wales were all smiles as they met the new Queen of Christmas Hannah Waddington at the Royal Variety Performance in London last night.

The annual event, at the Royal Albert Hall, took place amid reports that the Danish version of author Omid Scobie’s new book End Game listed two names of senior royals who he claimed expressed ‘concerns’ about the color of the skin of Prince Archie.

But William and Kate, 41, seemed unconcerned by the whirlwind racing as they were dazzled by the event.

Kate paired her stunning £1,288 Talina dress from Safiyaa with an equally dazzling smile as she stepped into Kensington. Meanwhile, William was just as dapper in black and white with a bow tie.

And Hannah Waddingham, whose Christmas special recently debuted on Apple TV to rave reviews, also dazzled in a gold one-shoulder dress.

The trio seemed excited to meet each other, with photos showing the trio beaming in each other’s presence despite the racing.

The couple mentioned in the book were tonight dubbed King Charles and Kate by media organizations around the world, including the Guardian and the Times.

Hannah Waddingham has been dubbed the Queen of Christmas thanks to the recent success of her Apple special

Recorded live at the Coliseum in London, the one-hour special features the Ted Lasso star ringing in the season with musical renditions of beloved Christmas classics.

The Independent described it as ‘an old-fashioned variety show’ and said it was ‘reminiscent of An Audience With’, while the Guardian said ‘not even the Grinch could bah-humbug with it’.

Hannah is joined on stage by Sam Ryder, Luke Evans and Hamilton star Leslie Odom Jr., as well as Phil Dunster who plays Jamie Tartt in Ted Lasso and more special guests.

There will also be performances from additional artists including the English National Opera, the London Gay Men’s Chorus, The Fabulous Lounge Swingers and an 18-piece band.

Along the way, Hannah shares her personal journey to this magical moment with anecdotes and memories about her own holiday experiences.

Speaking to Forbes, Hannah said that when she set the tone of special, she told executives it would be “somewhere between Dean Martin and Carol Burnett.” [shows]’, describing it as ‘that style where people come to visit during the holidays and come by in their finery.

“I mean, I feel like it’s a bygone era with people in beautiful tuxedo jackets and beautiful dresses, so I really wanted the band to be in their tuxedos and for my backup singers to feel like a million bucks.”

It was FEMAIL who dubbed Hannah ‘the Queen of Christmas’, a nickname now widely used to describe the star.

As well as her Apple TV special, Hannah stars in Christmas adverts for Baileys and Marks & Spencer.

And it seems Hannah, who has also had roles in Sex Education and Game of Thrones, has always loved the holidays.

Speaking about her Bailey’s advert, the 48-year-old said: ‘Christmas is my favorite part of the year; a time to gather with my friends and family and enjoy our own festive traditions.

After getting her big break in Ted Lasso in her mid-40s, the star has gone from strength to strength, from wowing the Eurovision audience to taking the Christmas advert crown.

Although Hannah Waddingham has a large number of fans of her own, she is a big fan of Prince William herself.

She recently praised Prince William for being ‘an extraordinary man’ – and revealed how she conveyed that to the royal family.

Hannah strengthened her bond with the Prince of Wales after hosting the Earthshot Prize Award Ceremony in Singapore earlier this month – a moment Hannah was ‘very proud’ of.

To talk with Procession magazine, Hannah called William a “glorious gentleman” and revealed the loving exchange in which she and co-host Sterling K. Brown told the prince.

“We were hosting together and he and I said to Prince William, ‘Sir, I hope you realize you’re a cut above the rest, because you are,’” she recalled.

Speaking to the magazine, Hannah said: ‘What a glorious man he is. I even said to him himself with the equally fantastic Sterling K. Brown.

“We were hosting together and he and I said to Prince William, ‘Sir, I hope you realize you’re a cut above the rest, because you are.’

She added, “He founded the Earthshot organization, and he’s not a poster boy for it.”

“It was very clear that he is the beating heart, and he really cares.”

The actress, who recently featured in the Marks and Spencer Christmas advert, explained that William wanted to ensure that all participants were well looked after throughout the process, by ‘holding them up’ and making sure they had everything they needed. they needed.

“He definitely has those finalists and the people who are in that whole competition, he holds them up, he gives them everything they need,” she said.

And Hannah didn’t stop there. ‘That man has a heart for the environment, and I was very proud to be there and to be the heard figure for his organization.’

She concluded: ‘He is a very special man.’

The royals met a number of other celebrities at the event last night, including Paloma Faith, who was also dressed in a gold dress to match her wavy blonde locks.

And Kate and Bradley Walsh were photographed chatting thoughtfully at the annual ‘do’.

Among the other celebrities Prince William met at the festive event were members of the band McFly, who grinned as they queued up to shake hands.