Queen's Christmas Day speeches - radio interruptions, reflection and 3D glasses
23.12.2023 - 10:19
/ ok.co.uk
At 3pm on 25 December, millions of us will sit down in front of the television to watch King Charles deliver his second Christmas Day address to the nation. It is one of the biggest rituals of the season, and he follows in the footsteps of the late Queen Elizabeth, who gave 69 Christmas messages during her long reign.
“Last year, Charles’ speech was dominated by the tribute to his mother, which was absolutely as we expected,” says royal commentator Duncan Larcombe. “He also focused on the war in Ukraine and the cost-of-living crisis, and unfortunately, those still remain as pressing issues this year.
But while Charles’ speeches have always tackled the big problems and he doesn’t shy away from them, he won’t want his Christmas Day message to be politically motivated. It will all be very carefully considered.” The King’s broadcast last year, only three months after the loss of his mother, came from St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle, which he noted was “so close to where my beloved mother, the late Queen, is laid to rest with my dear father”.
Delivering the message standing up rather than sitting formally behind a desk as the Queen usually did, he began with an expression of thanks to the public, saying, “I am reminded of the deeply touching letters, cards and messages which so many of you have sent my wife and myself and I cannot thank you enough for the love and sympathy you have shown our whole family. "Christmas is a particularly poignant time for all of us who have lost loved ones.