King Charles pays a sweet tribute to his daughter-in-law, the Princess of Wales, during this year’s Christmas message.b The King has chosen Westminster Abbey as the location for his Christmas broadcast, which will feature the key theme of pilgrimage.
Charles will deliver the fourth festive message of his reign on Christmas Day, and the second staged outside a royal residence. In images released ahead of tomorrow’s broadcast, the background shows Christmas trees that have been repurposed from Princess Catherine’s Together at Christmas carol concert, staged at the abbey earlier in December before the King’s message was filmed.
Catherine also gifted one of the trees from her Christmas carol concert, which will air tonight on ITV, to The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust.
The hospital revealed the sweet gesture last week when they shared a picture of the tree on their Instagram, with the caption: “Thank you to HRH The Princess of Wales, Joint Patron of The Royal Marsden with HRH The Prince of Wales, for donating a majestic Christmas tree from the ‘Together at Christmas’ Carol Service, held at Westminster Abbey earlier this month.”
The King’s choice for his Christmas broadcast this year, Westminster Abbey, has a long history as a site of pilgrimage for those paying homage at the tomb of Edward the Confessor, whose shrine lies at the heart of the abbey built in the King’s honour.
The abbey’s Lady Chapel is 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.
Out of view above the King’s head are the colourful banners of the chivalry order’s knights, hanging beneath the chapel’s spectacular fan-vaulted ceiling.
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.
Last year’s Christmas message was recorded at Fitzrovia Chapel in central London, a former sacred space of the demolished Middlesex Hospital, where Diana, Princess of Wales, opened London’s first dedicated Aids ward.
The King’s message is one of the rare occasions when he does not turn to the Government for advice and is able to voice his own views.
Written by the monarch, it usually has a strong religious framework, reflects current issues and sometimes draws on their own experiences.
The message will be transmitted on both television and radio at 3pm on Christmas Day.
