Britain’s King Charles to deliver Christmas message from former hospital in break from tradition

LONDON - King Charles will deliver his traditional Christmas Day message from a former hospital chapel, said Buckingham Palace on Dec 23, in a break from tradition and a nod to the British monarch’s ongoing treatment for cancer.

In February, the palace revealed that the 76-year-old, who became king in 2022, had been diagnosed with an unspecified form of cancer, detected in tests after a corrective procedure for an enlarged prostate.

Last week, a palace source said his treatment was moving in a positive direction and would continue into 2025.

For his annual pre-recorded Christmas Day broadcast to be aired on Dec 25, Charles selected Fitzrovia Chapel, an ornate former church on the site of a former hospital in central London.

“It is now a space for quiet reflection, discovery and celebration, connecting diverse communities from all faiths or none,” Buckingham Palace said on social media platform X, adding that the King’s grandfather George VI had laid the building’s foundation stone in 1928.

The content of the message itself remains guarded until it is broadcast, but a royal source said it would reflect on international, national and personal challenges, and how they can be overcome by communities supporting one another.

The seasonal messages date back to a radio speech by his great-grandfather George V in 1932, and are usually filmed in one of the monarch’s homes, with the late Queen Elizabeth last filming the broadcast outside a royal residence in 2006.

In 2023, Charles delivered his message from Buckingham Palace.

The Daily Telegraph, which had earlier learnt of the location, reported that King Charles himself had chosen the chapel as he faced his own health issues. A source told the paper the monarch wanted his message to feel fresher and more modern. REUTERS