Girls will be part of St. Paul’s Cathedral choir on Christmas Day for first time in 900 years

23 December 2024, 16:36 | Updated: 23 December 2024, 16:47

The choir at St Paul’s Cathedral’s Christmas service will be mixed gender for the first time.

For the first time in its 900-year history, girl choristers will sing at the Christmas Day carol service at London’s majestic St Paul’s Cathedral.

Made up of both adult and child choristers, the choir will perform at services on Christmas Day under the great 365-foot (111-meter) dome of the cathedral, designed by architect Christopher Wren.

A photocall and rehearsal took place on Monday ahead of Wednesday’s carol service.

Read more: Girl choristers join St Paul’s Cathedral choir for first time

The first two girls, 11-year-old Lila and 10-year-old Lois, to become full choristers officially joined the choir in June.

When it was first announced that girls would join the choir in May 2022, St Paul’s Cathedral and school said they would take steps to “provide a truly equal offer for girl and boy choristers”.

Girls are now expected to play equal part when singing at cathedral services and events of national importance.

The cathedral has been the site of numerous state events, including the wedding of Prince Charles, now the king, and Diana Spencer in 1981, and the funerals of former prime ministers Winston Churchill, in 1965, and Margaret Thatcher, in 2013.

At the time, Sarah Mullally, the Bishop of London, said: “It is a great joy to welcome Lila and Lois into the cathedral community.

“It was profoundly moving to see the culmination of their hard work, and God-given gifts on show, at the service on Sunday evening. I hope that Lila and Lois can be an inspiration to other young girls as to what can be achieved, in what is a huge milestone in St Paul’s 900-year history.”

Salisbury was England’s first Anglican cathedral to admit girl choristers, in 1991. Many others, including York Minster, Durham and Exeter, followed suit, and almost every cathedral now has a girls’ choir.

In 2019, it was reported that girl choristers now outnumber boys in English cathedrals – a major shift to the 1,100-year-old choral tradition.