King Charles has chosen to give his fourth Christmas broadcast
away from his royal homes.
Instead of Buckingham Palace, The King has chosen another
building long associated with royalty.
This year’s Christmas speech will come from Westminster Abbey,
the place Charles III was crowned in 2023.
The King will speak from the Lady Chapel inside the Abbey, a
huge space that was built by King Henry VII.
Buckingham Palace said The King will focus on pilgrimage in this
year’s speech and the Chapel and the Abbey is a major site for
pilgrims.
The Lady Chapel is also the burial place of fifteen kings and
queens including Henry VII as well as Charles II and Queen
Anne.
Inside the Lady Chapel is another smaller sacred space, the
Royal Air Force Chapel which includes a stained glass window
depicting the badges of the fighter squadrons that fought in the
Battle of Britain in 1940. King Charles is also expected to reflect
on the 80th anniversary of the end of World War Two in his
Christmas address.
This is the second year in a row that King Charles has chosen to
give his speech away from the royal residences.
In 2024, he spoke from the Fitzrovia Chapel in London.
The first Christmas broadcast of King Charles III was made from
St. George’s Chapel, Windsor, the final resting place of Queen
Elizabeth II and Prince Philip.
The only Christmas speech The King has given away from a chapel
was in 2023 when he spoke from inside Buckingham Palace, reflecting
on the Coronation.
The King’s Christmas speech is always broadcast at 3pm on
Christmas Day. The first was given in 1932 by King George V and the
first televised speech was by Queen Elizabeth II in 1958.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source royalcentral.co.uk ’
