King’s Speech: Charles offers message of hope amid ‘increasingly tragic conflict around world’

The Christmas broadcast, delivered at Buckingham Palace, is the second of Charles’s reign following the death of his mother the Queen

The King has called on people to “protect each other” as he said in his Christmas broadcast that the world is living through a time of increasingly tragic conflict. Charles delivered his festive address – the second of his reign following the death of his mother, the late Queen Elizabeth II, in September 2022 – standing up in Buckingham Palace’s Centre Room, which opens onto the famous balcony overlooking The Mall.

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King Charles III during the recording of his Christmas message at Buckingham Palace this year (PA)

The King also praised the “selfless army” of volunteers serving communities across the country, describing them as the “essential backbone of our society”. He said that the presence of community stalwarts among his coronation guests emphasised the meaning of the ceremony – “a call to us all to serve one another”.

There was also an environmental element to the address, as the King, who has spent much of his adult life promoting environmental causes, said he had taken “great inspiration” from the many people who recognise that “we must protect the Earth and our natural world”. He concluded by thanking those who are “caring for our common home”.

With the Israel-Hamas war raging, and other conflicts including the Russian invasion of Ukraine still unresolved, Charles suggested that one of the central tenets of Christianity – treating others as you would wish to be treated – is more apt than ever.

King Charles, Queen Camilla, the Prince and Princess of Wales, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis attend the royal family’s Christmas Day service at St Mary Magdalene Church in Sandringham (Reuters)

He told the nation and the Commonwealth: “At a time of increasingly tragic conflict around the world, I pray that we can also do all in our power to protect each other. The words of Jesus seem more than ever relevant: ‘Do to others as you would have them do to you.’”

Charles, who launched his Coronation Food Project in November to support charities feeding the disadvantaged with unwanted produce, said: “We need to build on existing ways to support others less fortunate than ourselves.”

Against the backdrop of the Queen Victoria Memorial, Charles said: “Over this past year, my heart has been warmed by countless examples of the imaginative ways in which people are caring for one another – going the extra mile to help those around them simply because they know it is the right thing to do: at work and at home; within and across communities.

Charles and Camilla attend the ‘Together at Christmas’ Carol Service at Westminster Abbey this year (Getty)

“My wife and I were delighted when hundreds of representatives of that selfless army of people – volunteers who serve their communities in so many ways and with such distinction – were able to join us in Westminster Abbey for the coronation earlier this year. They are an essential backbone of our society.”

Footage was shown of seated guests, the King processing through the abbey after his coronation, and finally the royal couple appearing on the palace balcony as they acknowledged the crowds with a wave.

Charles added: “Their presence meant so much to us both, and emphasised the meaning of coronation itself: above all, a call to us all to serve one another; to love and care for all.”

The coronation of King Charles III took place earlier this year (PA Archive)

The Christmas broadcast was written by the King and had a strong Christian element, a reflection of the head of state who described himself as a “committed Anglican Christian” during a reception for faith leaders after the death of Queen Elizabeth.

For the second successive year, the King recognised other faiths, describing how the “great religions of the world” celebrate festivals with a special meal and how it is the responsibility of “people of all faiths and of none” to care for the natural world.

Footage was shown of Charles and Camilla visiting a food distribution hub in Oxfordshire during the launch of the Coronation Food Project.

Charles speaks during the opening ceremony of the Cop28 UN climate summit earlier this month (AP)

The Prince and Princess of Wales and their children were also featured in a clip that showed them helping scouts from the 3rd Upton Scout Group in Slough to renovate their hut and grounds, as part of the Big Help Out event during the coronation weekend.

As the footage was shown, Charles said: “Throughout the year, my family have witnessed how people of all ages are making a difference to their communities. This is all the more important at a time of real hardship for many, when we need to build on existing ways to support others less fortunate than ourselves.”

The King’s relationship with his other son, Prince Harry, and Harry’s wife Meghan, has been strained since the pair’s Netflix docuseries was released in December 2022.

The King’s relationship with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex has been strained since the pair’s Netflix docuseries was released last year (PA Wire)

This was followed in January this year by the release of Prince Harry’s memoir Spare, in which he made a series of bombshell claims about his relationships with senior members of the royal family, including his brother Prince William.

The duke and duchess resigned as senior members of the royal family and relocated to Montecito, California, where they currently live with their two children Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet.

Another clip in the King’s Christmas broadcast showed him planting a tree with 10-year-old environmental activist Karen Kimani in Nairobi during his recent state visit to Kenya, and meeting litter-pickers on a beach in Mombasa.

The late Queen Elizabeth poses for a photograph after recording her annual Christmas Day message in 2018 (AP)

The King said: “To care for this creation is a responsibility owned by people of all faiths and of none. We care for the Earth for the sake of our children’s children.”

The broadcast, produced this year by ITN, began with military musicians from the Household Division brass ensemble playing the national anthem from a balcony overlooking Buckingham Palace’s quadrangle, and ended with the Bexley Music Primary Choir performing the carol “While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks”.

Highlights from the royal year were screened, showing the King and Queen, the Princess Royal, and the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh attending events.

A woman reads a Dutch translation of ‘Endgame’ by Omid Scobie, a book about the British royal family, in Beuningen, Netherlands (Reuters)

Footage of William and Kate and their children arriving for the princess’s Westminster Abbey carol concert was also shown, and the film ended with Charles’s final coronation day appearance on the palace balcony.

It comes after the royal racism row was reignited earlier this month when a Dutch translation of Omid Scobie’s book Endgame was found to contain a passage accusing King Charles and the Princess of Wales of being the two senior royals who had allegedly raised “concerns” about the skin colour of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s son Archie before his birth.

The inclusion of the passage was initially blamed on a “translation error”, and the Dutch versions were pulled from the shelves and pulped at the 11th hour, but not before the names of those alleged to have been involved in the incident had begun circulating on social media.

Piers Morgan used his TalkTV show to reveal the names to his British audience, claiming that those in the country “who actually pay for the royal family are entitled to know, too”.