Buckingham Palace have released a behind-the-scenes video from King Charles’s Christmas speech this year. The King has used his Christmas message to urge the nation to “never lose sight” in a divisive world of the values of the Second World War, such as “courage and sacrifice” and community spirit.
It was his fourth Christmas address to the nation and the second staged outside a royal residence. In the background of the broadcast, filmed in Westminster Abbey, were Christmas trees that had been repurposed from the Princess of Wales’s “Together at Christmas” carol concert, staged at the abbey earlier in December before the King’s message was recorded.
The 44-second clip showed what goes on behind the scenes so the monarch can film his annual festive address.
It showed staff decorating the Christmas trees and choristers getting prepared for their performance.
It also showed the King getting directions on how to position himself for the broadcast, before watching the finished product himself.
The video ended with a sweet moment of the King laughing, presumably after receiving a compliment, and saying, “Too kind.”
This year, the abbey’s Lady Chapel was the location for Charles’ broadcast, a late medieval construction built for Henry VII and the burial place of 15 kings and queens, including Charles II, Elizabeth I and Mary Queen of Scots, and it is also the official chapel of the Order of the Bath.
It is understood that the King asked for a filming location away from a royal setting, and suggestions were made by the BBC, which produced the broadcast this year, and the royal household.
In the wake of the Bondi Beach shootings and the Manchester synagogue attack, Charles praised the “spontaneous bravery” of those who put themselves in “harm’s way to defend others”.
The King referenced the impact new technologies can have on wellbeing and community cohesion as the world spins “ever faster”, suggesting the festive period might be a moment to recharge and for those communities to grow stronger.
He also went on to comment on examples of right overcoming wrong at home and overseas: “These stories of the triumph of courage over adversity give me hope, from our venerable military veterans to selfless humanitarian workers in this century’s most dangerous conflict zones; to the ways in which individuals and communities display spontaneous bravery, instinctively placing themselves in harm’s way to defend others.”
