The King has used his first Christmas broadcast to sympathise with families struggling with the cost-of-living crisis and to pay tribute to his "beloved mother", the late Queen Elizabeth.
King Charles was very close to his mother and in a national address filmed close to her Windsor resting place, he took the chance to once again honour the much-loved, late Monarch.
The festive message was recorded at St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle, a religious building which has a strong association with the late Queen. St George’s Chapel is where the late Queen did her 1999 festive address, and also where she was laid to rest alongside Prince Philip in September.
For his own speech, Charles followed his mother’s well-established template, a personal reflection on the year, touching on current issues and with a Christian framework.
The central theme was a celebration of “selfless dedication”, a value embodied by Queen Elizabeth and reflected in the actions of many, from the emergency services to public spirited individuals, which helped to build and strengthen communities.
The pre-recorded message began with Charles reflecting on how he was standing “so close to where my beloved mother, the late Queen, is laid to rest with my dear father” in the King George VI Memorial Chapel, and he thanked the public for the “love and sympathy” expressed in cards and messages of condolence.
He also described how the festive period was a “poignant time” for bereaved families, adding “We feel their absence at every familiar turn of the season and remember them in each cherished tradition”.
Charles said he shared the late Queen’s “faith in people” who can touch the lives of others with “goodness and compassion”, something he described as the “essence of our community and the very foundation of our society”.
In his speech, Charles also spoke about the “great anxiety and hardship” experienced by many trying to “pay their bills and keep their families fed and warm” during his televised message, which featured footage of a foodbank and other scenes of meals being distributed to the homeless.
He went on to discuss the religious themes within the British society. The King also recognised other faiths, highlighting how religious communities were helping those in financial difficulties and, like Christians, believed in the “power of light overcoming darkness”.
His own faith was another central theme and he spoke about fulfilling a “life-long wish” to visit Bethlehem in 2020 and stand close to the sacred site in the Church of the Nativity that marks the spot where Christians believe Jesus Christ was born.
Charles, who in the past has described himself as a “committed Anglican Christian”, said in the address: “It meant more to me than I can possibly express to stand on that spot where, as the Bible tells us, ‘The light that has come into the world’ was born.”
The Christmas broadcast, written by the King and lasting eight minutes, ended with a message for the religious and those with no beliefs: “While Christmas is, of course, a Christian celebration, the power of light overcoming darkness is celebrated across the boundaries of faith and belief.
“So, whatever faith you have, or whether you have none, it is in this life-giving light, and with the true humility that lies in our service to others, that I believe we can find hope for the future.
“Let us therefore celebrate it together, and cherish it always.”
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