Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, appeared in a charity video featuring a number of A-list stars, including Daniel Craig and Dame Judi Dench, to narrate ‘Twas The Night Before Christmas.
Royalty will read from the classic Christmas tale to raise awareness of the Actors’ Benevolent Fund (ABF), which has received more calls for help this year than ever before.
Tom Hardy, Dame Maggie Smith, Joanna Lumley and Sex Education star Ncuti Gatwa, as well as ABF President Dame Penelope Keith also read excerpts from the video.
Prince Charles (pictured) and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, joined the stars of James Bond, Daniel Craig and Dame Judi Dench, as well as a series of A-list stars to narrate ‘Twas The Night Before Christmas for charity .
Royalty read the classic Christmas tale to raise awareness of the Actors’ Benevolent Fund (ABF), which has received more calls for help this year than ever before. Camilla is photographed
The Prince of Wales read the famous opening lines of Clement Clarke Moore’s poem: “It was the night before Christmas, when in the whole house no creature moved, not even a mouse.”
Charles is the patron of ABF and had the idea of bringing together a group of actors for reading after being approached by the charity to help keep up with Covid-19’s huge impact on the acting profession.
Coronavirus restrictions left cinemas and cinemas empty this Christmas, after a year in which many actors saw work projects canceled or postponed.
The prince and his wife recorded the poem at their London home, Clarence House, and some of the actors, including Lumley, Hardy and Gatwa, have read their lines under Covid-19 regulations in recent weeks.
The full video will be posted on Clarence House’s social media on Christmas Eve.
ABF supports actors, actresses and directors who are unable to work due to illness, injury or old age and those who are experiencing financial difficulties.
Joanna Lumley, in the photo, was among the stars of the festive video that was partially filmed at Clarence House
Sex Education star Ncuti Gatwa, on the left, and Tom Hardy, on the right will also appear in the video, which will be released on social media tomorrow
Before the pandemic, the ABF mainly supported those of retirement age, but during 2020 they largely helped those aged 18-47.
In April, the charity launched an Emergency Grant Fund to support those who are experiencing financial difficulties due to the pandemic.
Charles and Camilla have supported the arts and entertainment sector during the recent difficult period.
In May, Charles raised questions about how orchestras and theaters would survive the coronavirus crisis.
And during a tour of London’s 100 Club and Soho Theater in early December, the prince said he was “praying” that entertainment venues could reopen soon.
This year, the Queen, 94, and Prince Philip, 99, will resign their traditional Christmas festivities in Sandringham and remain at Windsor Castle on December 25, where they have been isolating themselves with a “bubble” of employees since October due to the ongoing pandemic.
This means that the couple can spend Christmas Day without any of their four children for the first time since 1949, when then Princess Elizabeth left Charles at the age of one in the United Kingdom so she could stay with Prince Philip in Malta.
It was believed that Charles, 72, and Camilla, 73, would visit Highgrove, their country house, for Christmas, but it is not known whether they will be staying at Clarence House amid new level changes.
Today, the heir to the throne met with hospital officials after appearing in a video to commend a retired village of Surrey for its ‘indomitable community spirit and resilience’ during the coronavirus pandemic.
He met with team members during a visit to Tetbury hospital to thank them for their work during the pandemic.
It happens after he appeared in a video for the Whiteley Homes Trust in Walton on Thames, where he praised the team and the residents and said that they should be ‘truly proud’ of their efforts during the Covid-19 crisis.
Speaking via a Clarence House video, Charles, who has been a patron of the charity since 2007, expressed ‘special gratitude’ to the ‘nursing and care team for their inspiring commitment’.