 "King Charles. AFP file")
King Charles III will not make his annual Christmas speech from Buckingham Palace and instead will address people from Fitzrovia Chapel in London, breaking away from a decade-long royal tradition.
The Royal Family made the announcement on Monday, saying that the monarch recorded his Christmas speech from a former hospital chapel.
“This year, The King’s Christmas Broadcast was filmed in the Fitzrovia Chapel, London,” it said.
The king’s decision to film the holiday speech at this location marks the first change of venue since 2006, after which the speech was consistently recorded on the royal estate.
King Charles’ mother, the late Queen Elizabeth II used to record her Christmas messages from either Southwark Cathedral, Windsor Castle, or the Sandringham Estate during her reign.
About Fitzrovia Chapel
The Byzantine-inspired chapel used to be part of Middlesex Hospital and has served as “a place of solace, prayer and rest for staff and patients” for nearly 100 years, according to a Buckingham Palace statement.
In 1928, King Charles’ grandfather, King George VI, laid the foundation stone of the building.
King Charles’ cancer diagnosis
Although the king has slowly returned to public duties, he is still undergoing cancer treatment, which is expected to continue into 2025.
His daughter-in-law Princess Catherine was also diagnosed with cancer this year, and announced in September she had completed chemotherapy.
Charles evoked environmentalism and called for world peace in his 2023 Christmas address from Buckingham Palace.
This year’s message was recorded earlier in December from the ornate Grade II listed chapel which boasts over 500 stars in its gold-leaf ceiling and some 40 different types of marble.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsThe king’s speech will be broadcast by Sky News at 1500 GMT on Christmas Day.
With inputs from AFP