King Charles bucked tradition this Christmas and filmed his traditional holiday broadcast as sovereign from a former hospital chapel instead of the royal residence at the end of a difficult year in which both he and Kate Middleton were diagnosed with cancer.
On December 23, it emerged that the King, 76, had recorded the address in Fitzrovia Chapel, the former chapel of the Middlesex Hospital in London. PEOPLE understand that the speech will address national, international and personal challenges and how they can be overcome through community support.
The Telegraph was the first to report the news of the unique location, which marks a departure from past precedents in recent years. The upcoming broadcast will be the first time in 18 years that the monarch’s Christmas speech has not been filmed on royal property, and the Fitzrovia Chapel was a poignant choice, built in the heart of the hospital as a place where patients and staff seek peace. King Charles’ grandfather, King George VI, laid the foundation stone when the hospital was rebuilt in 1928, and although the medical center closed in 2005, the chapel is now open to the public as a place for meditation.
Fitzrovia Chapel in London.
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“It is also a non-denominational chapel, which is of course a key focus,” a royal source said The Telegraph about the church. “Although this is a Christmas address, His Majesty likes to reach out to those of all faiths and none.”
Interfaith relations are a key interest of the king, and The Telegraph he said he hoped to modernize the Christmas broadcast, expressing a long-standing desire to “reach out to communities rather than draw them in,” according to a royal source. The late Queen Elizabeth usually recorded her Christmas addresses at Windsor Castle, Buckingham Palace or Sandringham, where the royal family has celebrated Christmas for generations, and King Charles followed his mother’s lead by recording the broadcast at St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle in 2022 and at Buckingham Palace in 2023. .
Fitzrovia Chapel is notable for its Byzantine-inspired design and gold mosaic ceiling, and the king was “absolutely enchanted” by its scale, “stunning beauty” and history, The Telegraph he said. The publication adds that he was not there before the address was recorded.
A photo from the broadcast, produced by Sky, shows the king smiling in front of a glittering Christmas tree. It is understood that the festive tree with sustainable decorations was later donated to Croydon BME Forum and Macmillan Cancer Support “Can You C Me?” project and will be based at the Royal Trinity Hospice in Clapham. The hospice is the oldest in the UK and Queen Camilla has supported the care facility as patron since 2006. The King is also a long-standing patron of Macmillan Cancer Support and visited the Macmillan Cancer Center at University Hospital London for his first royal duty in April, following a short break from performing after the announcement of his diagnosis.
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King Charles leaves St. Peter’s Church in London on December 4, 2024.
MINA KIM/POOL/AFP/Getty
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The Christmas broadcast is one of the British sovereign’s best-known holiday traditions, started by King George V in 1932 and first televised by Queen Elizabeth in 1957. Broadcasts have been pre-recorded since 1960 and shared as a way for the sovereign to reflect on current events, the meaning of Christmas and the landscape of the world stage.
The King’s speech will be broadcast on Christmas Day, following what Prince William previously described as a “brutal” year as both his father the King and wife Princess Kate battled cancer diagnoses.
King Charles’ cancer treatment is understood to be ongoing and will continue next year.
“His treatment is going in a positive direction and as a controlled condition, the treatment cycle will continue next year,” palace sources said on December 20.
Meanwhile, the Princess of Wales, 42, is gradually taking on some royal duties after announcing in March that she was undergoing chemotherapy and announcing in September that she had finished chemotherapy.
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The Wales family at Together on Christmas Day 6 December 2024.
Aaron Chown – WPA collection/Getty
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In an extremely personal behind-the-scenes comment on her Together at Christmas On Christmas Eve Dec. 6, Princess Kate said, “I didn’t know this year was going to be the year I just had,” apparently referring to her health journey.
Although the Prince and Princess of Wales did not attend the King’s pre-Christmas lunch at Buckingham Palace last week, they are expected to bring their children to celebrate Christmas at Sandringham with the King on December 25, a much-loved royal Christmas ritual. The family will hopefully take the traditional march to and from St Mary Magdalene Church and later watch the King’s speech at 3pm UK time after a festive feast.
Step into the royal family’s holiday tradition with a special edition of PEOPLE’s: Christmas at the Palace: A Royal Family Album.
Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education