King Charles used his annual Christmas message to hail the selflessness of those who have cared for him and the Princess of Wales this year as both were receiving cancer treatments.
The 76-year-old monarch said in a pre-recorded message released Wednesday that he and his family are “continually” impressed by those who dedicate their lives to helping others.
“From a personal point of view, I offer special, heartfelt thanks to the selfless doctors and nurses who this year have supported me and other members of my family through the uncertainties and anxieties of illness and have helped provide the strength, care and comfort we have needed,” he said in a prerecorded speech.
The broadcast came several hours after the monarch waved to a large crowd of onlookers who traditionally gather to see the Royal family attend Christmas Day services at a church on Sandringham, the estate on the windswept North Sea coast that has served as a family retreat for generations.
A year marked by illness in Royal family
The King’s Christmas speech is the third since he ascended the throne after Queen Elizabeth II died in September 2022, but the first since he was diagnosed with an undisclosed form of cancer in February.
The monarch’s holiday message is watched by millions of people in the U.K. and across the Commonwealth, with many households timing Christmas lunch around it.
The King’s treatment, which is believed to be ongoing, forced him to step away from public appearances for two months. He has slowly returned to public life in recent months and was in good spirits on a tour of Australia and the South Pacific in October.
A few weeks after Charles began treatment, the Princess of Wales announced her own cancer diagnosis, which sidelined her for much of the year.
In a voiceover for her annual Christmas carol service at Westminster Abbey that was recorded this month but broadcast on Tuesday evening, Catherine also reflected on the love and support that she received.
“The Christmas story encourages us to consider the experiences and feelings of others,” she said. “It also reflects our own vulnerabilities and reminds us of the importance of giving and receiving empathy, as well as just how much we need each other in spite of our differences.”
Charles spoke at the Fitzrovia Chapel, in central London, which was part of the now-demolished Middlesex Hospital where his first wife, Diana, opened London’s first dedicated ward for those with AIDS.
The King had tasked the team organizing the broadcast with finding a site away from the royal estate, and one with health connections, a strong community presence and a place of solace and reflection for those with or without faith.
Charles walked with Queen Camilla as his eldest son, Prince William, Catherine and their three children followed. The King’s daughter-in-law, who has slowly returned to public duties after completing chemotherapy, hugged a cancer patient after the service.
Two of Charles’s siblings, Anne, the Princess Royal, and Prince Edward, the Duke of Edinburgh, were also in the procession.
Notably absent at St. Mary Magdalene Church was Prince Andrew. Once second in line to the British throne, the King’s 64-year-old brother has become a constant source of tabloid fodder because of his money woes and links to questionable characters, including the late American financier and convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
Most recently, a Chinese businessman was barred from the U.K. because of concerns he cultivated links with Andrew on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party.
Message for those enduring ‘devastating’ conflict
It’s a rare occasion when the monarch’s Christmas message is not recorded at a royal residence, notably Buckingham Palace or Windsor Castle. The last time his late mother recorded her message outside the royal estate was in 2006.
Charles also paid his respect to Second World War troops who perished on the beaches of northern France as well as the few remaining veterans, many of them centenarians, who attended the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings in Normandy, in June.
He said it was an “enormous privilege” to meet “the remarkable veterans of that very special generation who gave of themselves so courageously on behalf of us all” but that the spectre of war was haunting the world this Christmas.
“During previous commemorations, we were able to console ourselves with the thought that these tragic events seldom happen in the modern era,” he said.
“But on this Christmas Day, we cannot help but think of those for whom the devastating effects of conflict in the Middle East, in Central Europe, in Africa and elsewhere pose a daily threat to so many people’s lives and livelihoods.”
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