Sammy Gecsoyler&
King Charles has praised the work of volunteers, calling them a “selfless army of people” who are an “essential backbone of our society”.
In his second Christmas speech as monarch, Charles said he was delighted that hundreds of volunteers and their representatives attended his coronation in May, saying their presence “emphasised the meaning of coronation itself: above all, a call to us all to serve one another, to love and care for all”.
In an apparent reference to rising homelessness, and people housing displaced victims of conflicts, such as Ukrainians, Charles highlighted one part of the story of Jesus’s birth when “Mary and Joseph were offered shelter in their hour of need by strangers”.
Last Christmas, Charles underlined the cost of living crisis and the “great anxiety and hardship” of many struggling to “pay their bills and keep their families fed and warm”.
In November, he launched the Coronation Food Project, which will distribute food that would otherwise be wasted to people living in food poverty. In yesterday’s speech, he said “we need to build on existing ways to support others less fortunate than ourselves”.
This month, Charles warned that the world remained “dreadfully far off track” in key climate targets from the Paris agreement in 2015 and called for meaningful change in his opening statement at the Cop28 summit.
Standing in front of a replantable Christmas tree for his 25 December broadcast, Charles said the planet must be protected “for the sake of our children’s children”.
He added: “During my lifetime I have been so pleased to see a growing awareness of how we must protect the Earth and our natural world as the one home which we all share.”
Referring to the wars in Gaza and Ukraine, he said: “At a time of increasingly tragic conflict around the world, I pray that we can also do all in our power to protect each other.”
He cited other faiths, describing how “great religions of the world” celebrated festivals with a special meal, and how it was the responsibility of “people of all faiths and of none” to care for the natural world.
The speech was delivered standing up in Buckingham Palace’s Centre Room, which opens on to the famous balcony overlooking the Mall.
Earlier in the day, the royal family attended the traditional Christmas day church service on the Sandringham estate.
Royal fans gathered as the Prince and Princess of Wales walked hand in hand with their children George, Charlotte and Louis. They walked behind the king and queen, who were greeted by about 1,000 local residents, many of whom had waited hours outside the estate on Christmas morning.
Sarah, Duchess of York – the former wife of the disgraced Duke of York – joined the service in what appeared to be a public show of her return to the heart of the royal family.
Meanwhile, the queen’s sister has described Camilla as Charles’s “rock” and said she was the “yin” to his “yang” in a relationship that works “brilliantly”. Annabel Elliot, Camilla’s sister, was speaking in a documentary set to be broadcast on BBC One today. The film, Charles III: The Coronation Year, also shows rehearsals for the event and a moment where William and Kate arrive at Westminster Abbey with their children and they greet the monarch.
Charles is seen hugging his grandchildren in turn – first Charlotte, then George and finally Louis stretches out his arms for an embrace.
Richard Jackson, bishop of Hereford, one of the two bishops assistant to the then queen consort during the coronation, tells the documentary: “I think what struck me particularly is how extraordinarily affectionate they are. They’re clearly a very close family of all the generations and in a sense you felt you were part of a family occasion as well as royal occasion and a national occasion.”