Christmas is here and King Charles III has finally decided to turn over some old leaves. He is doing so with the annual King’s speech to the British nation. The broadcast is a part of the annual Christmas routine from the Royal Family, which also includes attending morning church and walking back to their Sandringham estate. However, this year, the King has switched things up since taking the reins in 2022 from his late mother Queen Elizabeth II.
King Charles’ new location for Christmas speech
Typically the monarch, 77, makes his public address, which is aired in the afternoon on TV on Christmas Day, from a royal residence. However, for his 2025 speech he has chosen to film at the Lady Chapel at Westminster Abbey in London. This is not the first time he has chosen a location other than the royal homes, but it is the first time he has recorded the message at the chapel. Before this, he gave his speech and address at Fitzrovia Chapel at Pearson Square in London, with the former chapel of Middlesex Hospital in 2024. Considering he was still undergoing cancer treatment at the time, the location seemed suitable. The Abbey’s Lady Chapel is a late medieval construction built for Henry VII and the burial place of 15 kings and queens, including Charles II, Elizabeth I and Mary Queen of Scots and is the official chapel of the Order of the Bath. However, it seems this year the change of location has a Kate Middleton connection.
King Charles’ Christmas message and Kate Middleton link
This year, King Charles’ broadcast features a subtle nod to his daughter-in-law, Kate Middleton. In the photos shared beforehand, the background of the broadcast is twinkling Christmas trees that have been repurposed from Kate’s Together at Christmas carol concert, staged at the Abbey earlier in December before the King’s message was filmed. A number of trees used at the service have been repurposed or donated to charities, including The Passage homelessness organisation and the Oak Cancer Centre in Sutton. Out of view, above the King’s head are colourful banners of the chivalry order’s knights, hanging beneath the chapel’s spectacular fan-vaulted ceiling. According to Hello!, it is believed that the location change and settings were suggestions made by the BBC, which produced the broadcast this year, and the royal household. The royal speech is an annual tradition from the Royal Family. Late Queen Elizabeth usually made hers at Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle or Sandringham House where the royals celebrated the festival for generations. The tradition was originally started in 1932 by King Charles’ great-grandfather, King George V and Queen Elizabeth was the first to televise it for the first time in 1957.
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