King Charles addressed the issue of the cost-of-living crisis through his first Christmas message. He highlighted the “great anxiety and hardship” of those unable to “pay their bills and keep their families fed and warm”.
He posted pictures of food banks and of people helping the homeless along with his speech which the King recorded in St George’s Chapel, Windsor.
During that time, he also paid tribute to his mother Queen Elizabeth, who is buried in the chapel.
It was Queen Elizabeth who started the tradition of the televised address of royal Christmas Day. In her last Christmas address last year, she spoke of “passing the baton” to the next generation.
His speech touched upon some causes he believe like support for the disadvantaged, the importance of public service, and supporting a multi-faith approach to religion.
Royal members featured in the King’s broadcast on screen were “working royals” and included the Queen Consort, the Prince and Princess of Wales, the Earl of Wessex, and Princess Royal.
Those who didn’t appear were the Duke of Sussex Prince Harry and Duchess of Sussex Meghan along with the King’s younger brother Prince Andrew who is no longer a working royal after he was left “on his own” by the King.
Services and helpers found special mention in King’s speech
The King’s sermon was centered on individuals helping those in need during a period of economic hardship and industrial conflict.
“I particularly want to pay tribute to all those wonderfully kind people who so generously give food or donations, or that most precious commodity of all, their time, to support those around them in greatest need,” the King said in his speech.
The King’s message was corroborated by pictures of charities providing food to the homeless and volunteers helping at a food bank.
Buckingham Palace has stated that funds donated after the Queen’s demise were given as charity supporting those unable to pay energy bills.
The King and other senior royals have gathered at Sandringham, in Norfolk, for Christmas. The King also attended the traditional Christmas Day ceremony earlier in his reign, for the first time.
The King applauded the work of emergency services who “worked tirelessly to keep us all safe”, teachers and health and social care staff.
“Christmas is a particularly poignant time for all of us who have lost loved ones. We feel their absence at every familiar turn of the season and remember them in each cherished tradition,” said the King.
Standing “close to where my beloved mother, the late Queen is laid to rest with my dear father”, he mentioned his mother’s faith in God and in people”.
The King asserted his own Christian belief while extending the message of the communal activity of such faith-based institutions to other religions.
He felt emotional talking of the “heartfelt solidarity” shown by “churches, synagogues, mosques, and gurdwaras”.
The King described how he was moved to go to the birthplace of Christ in Bethlehem: “It meant more to me than I can possibly express to stand on that spot.”
The King’s speech marks a 90-year-old tradition, and King George V delivered the first-ever royal Christmas broadcast on the radio in 1932. However, Elizabeth II presented the first televised broadcast in 1957.
