The Princess of Wales has taken a significant step in her gradual return to public royal duties by attending the Festival of Remembrance.

Joined by the Prince of Wales and the King, her presence at the Royal British Legion event comes after William spoke candidly of how 2024 has been “brutal” and “probably been the hardest year in my life”, with his wife and his father both diagnosed with cancer.

Charles received applause as he took his seat next to the Princess Royal at Saturday’s event, which honours sacrifices made by the British and Commonwealth armed forces community and includes musical performances and personal testimonies.

The crowd at the Royal Albert Hall stood and applauded as the King entered to a royal fanfare by state trumpeters of the household division.

During the Festival, William and Kate, both wearing poppies, applauded a performance by Sir Tom Jones – who sang I Won’t Crumble With You If You Fall with the central band of the Royal Air Force – and joined other members of the royal family in standing to clap for Second World War veterans.

Anne’s husband, Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence, and the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester were also in attendance, but the Queen was absent from the Festival and will also miss the Cenotaph ceremony on Sunday as she recovers from a chest infection.

From the royal box, the group watched attentively as current serving personnel paid tribute to those who lost their lives in Afghanistan and, towards the end of the evening, joined in the singing of a hymn.

Charles, William and Kate all stood to take part in the rendition of Guide Me, O Thou Great Redeemer, with the royal emblem laid over the rail in front of the box.

The Waleses participated in more of the music as they joined in the singing of the national anthem.

The song was followed by serving personnel on the floor of the hall removing their headwear and giving three cheers to the King, who waved to the crowd after the anthem.

The royal family stood in silence as the Last Post was played and poppy petals fell from the ceiling at the Royal British Legion event.

On Sunday, Kate, who revealed eight months ago she had an undisclosed form of cancer, will attend the national commemoration at the Cenotaph.

It will be the first time she has carried out two consecutive days of public official engagements since the start of the year.

In a video the princess released in September, she revealed she had finished her chemotherapy treatment, and spoke of how she was “looking forward to being back at work and undertaking a few more public engagements in the coming months”.

But she added her focus was “doing what I can to stay cancer free”.

On Sunday Kate will watch, as is tradition, from above, on the nearby Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office balcony overlooking Whitehall, taking part in the solemn two-minute silence and viewing the veterans’ march past.

William said on Wednesday during his trip to Cape Town that his wife was “doing really well” and has been “amazing this whole year”.

Kate, 42, has made just a handful of public appearances so far in 2024, after she underwent major abdominal surgery in January and then was diagnosed with cancer.

Her last engagement was a month ago, when she made a surprise trip to meet families whose children were killed in the Southport attack and to speak to emergency workers who helped at the scene after the devastating knife attack.

At the start of October, the princess was pictured hugging an aspiring teenage photographer with a rare and aggressive form of cancer after inviting her to take pictures at investitures at Windsor Castle.

Kate met Liz Hatton, 16, from Harrogate, and her family privately after the ceremony with William.

In the summer, she appeared at the traditional Trooping the Colour ceremony and presented the Wimbledon men’s singles trophy to Carlos Alcaraz in her role as patron of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club.