King Charles III invoked memories of his late mother, Queen Elizabeth II, in his first Christmas message as monarch. He also praised the “selfless dedication” of Britain’s public service workers, many of whom are engaged in a pay dispute with the government.
In the prepared greeting, Charles, 74, he expressed sympathy for those struggling to make ends meet “at a period of immense fear and sorrow.” As in other parts of the world, the United Kingdom is struggling with rising inflation, which has generated a crisis in the cost of living for many households.
King Charles III is pictured during the recording of his first Christmas broadcast in the Quire of St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle in this image released on December 23, 2022. Victoria Jones / Getty Photographic
However, the king’s initial remarks recalled his mother, who passed away in September at the age of 96 after 70 years on the throne.
Charles stated, “Christmas is a particularly poignant time for those of us who have lost loved ones.” “Their absence is felt with every familiar turn of the season, and we remember them with every cherished custom.”
Charles assumed the throne immediately after the queen’s death. His coronation is scheduled for the month of May.
For his Christmas address broadcast on television, he wore a dark blue suit. Charles stood under a Christmas tree in St. George’s Chapel, the church on the grounds of Windsor Castle where his mother and his father, Prince Philip, are interred.
Charles stated that he and his mother had “a conviction in the amazing capacity of each individual to touch the lives of others with goodness and compassion and to illuminate the world around them.”
“Health and social care workers and teachers, as well as all those working in public service whose competence and dedication are at the heart of our communities,” the monarch remarked, “represent the essence of our community and the very cornerstone of our civilization.”
This month’s strikes by nurses, ambulance crews, teachers, postal workers, and train drivers have put pressure on the government of British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. Opinion polls indicate a strong amount of support for the employees, particularly nurses. In November, the rate of inflation was 10.7%, and unions are requesting wage increases in line with that figure.
In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, soaring food and energy prices have strained the finances of many individuals and families.
Charles expressed pity for “those at home attempting to pay their bills and keep their families nourished and warm” while speaking over film footage of food banks and other charity efforts.
Charles also extended a hand to people of various religions in the United Kingdom and the British Commonwealth, stating that the significance of Jesus Christ’s birth transcends “the borders of faith and belief.”
Charles feels that the monarchy may help reconcile the increasingly different ethnic and religious groupings in his country. This is part of his endeavor to demonstrate the institution’s continued importance.
The six-minute lecture closed with a call to notice “the eternal light,” which, according to Charles, was a major component of Elizabeth’s faith in God and belief in mankind.
“Therefore, regardless of your faith or lack thereof, I believe we may find hope for the future in this life-giving light and the true humility that resides in our devotion to others,” he stated.
The monarch made no allusion to the recent uproar over the Netflix documentary series about the painful divorce from the royal family that accompanied his son Prince Harry and daughter-in-law Meghan’s choice to step back from their royal duties and travel across the Atlantic Ocean.
In the final chapters of the Netflix documentary, Harry and Meghan discuss their royal rift.
The accompanying video footage to the Christmas message showed members of the royal family attending official functions. Prince Andrew, who was stripped of his honorary military titles and removed as a working royal due to his relationship with the notorious U.S. sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, also did not attend.
Andrew did join Charles and other senior royals for a Christmas morning stroll to a church at the family’s Sandringham Estate in Norfolk, England.
The king and his wife, Camilla, escorted family members to a church service at St. Mary Magdalene. They comprised Prince William, the eldest son of King Charles and heir to the throne, William’s wife, Kate, and the couple’s three children, Prince George, 9, Princess Charlotte, 7, and Prince Louis, 4 years old.
Charles and Andrew’s younger brother, Prince Edward, and his wife, Sophie, accompanied them on the stroll.
Following the family’s entrance inside the church, the congregation sung “God Save the King” and “O Come, All Ye Faithful.”
Sandringham has been the private country retreat of four generations of British monarchs for more than 160 years, but according to Britain’s Press Association news agency, this was the royal family’s first Christmas there since 2019.
Due to the COVID-19 epidemic, Elizabeth spent the two previous Christmases in Windsor Castle. Sunday, crowds lined the streets surrounding Sandringham to welcome the royal family’s return to the holiday ritual.
“Regarding his mother and her legacy, King Charles will reflect on this. They will contemplate it over the holiday season “John Loughrey, 67, from south London, who stayed out overnight to be first in line, remarked. “It will be both a painful and wonderful time for them. That is how it must be.”
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