Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis Make Surprise Appearance at the London Palladium

Prince William and Kate Middleton's children—Prince George, 7, Princess Charlotte, 5, and Prince Louis, 2—made an exceedingly rare public appearance, to the surprise and delight of royal watchers.

The trio accompanied their parents to see a performance of the pantomime Pantoland at the London Palladium. (Pantomimes, or "pantos," are farcical plays, often staged around the holidays in Britain; famously, Queen Elizabeth herself even took part in some pantos as a child, alongside her sister Princess Margaret.) Today's special performance celebrated the work of essential workers, who, along with their families, were gifted "hundreds of seats" to see the show, per royal reporter Lizzie Robinson.

George, Charlotte, and Louis walked the red carpet together, hand-in-hand with William and Kate. George is dressed in a classy, red-and-blue striped sweater and collared shirt; Charlotte donned a plaid dress and black tights; and, for his part, Louis went casual in a dark blue jacket. George's look paired particularly well with that of his father, who wore a blue blazer with a red sweater and a collared shirt. And Kate, as ever, looked stylish in a dress and heels.

Prior to the performance, William delivered a speech, saying that "Catherine, George, Charlotte, Louis and I are all really looking forward to the show." He went on to praise those in attendance. "We are here tonight for a very special performance. Special, because of you—the key workers here in the audience," he said, adding, "You have given your absolute all this year, and made remarkable sacrifices. So too have your families, who I’m sure have seen far less of you than they would have liked. It’s lovely that you are all here together tonight."

"From all of us—we wish you all a very Happy Christmas!" the Prince concluded.