How King Charles broke tradition with his 2024 Christmas speech
The king usually records the speech at a royal residenceKing Charles broke royal tradition with his 2024 Christmas speech.
Each year, the monarch delivers a festive speech which is aired on Christmas Day. This year will mark the king’s fourth speech since he became monarch.
His first Christmas Day speech took place in 2022, a few months after he became king. In it, he paid tribute to his late mother, Queen Elizabeth II, who died in the September.
However, in 2024, King Charles broke with tradition by filming his speech in a former hospital chapel.
King Charles’ 2024 Christmas speech
King Charles, 77, recorded the speech at the Fitzrovia Chapel in London. The chapel once served as the chapel of the Middlesex Hospital.
This was one of the few times a sovereign has not delivered the Christmas speech at a royal residence.
The king reportedly wanted to film the speech from a location with a healthcare connection.
2024 was a tough year for the king following his cancer diagnosis. His daughter-in-law, Princess Kate, was also diagnosed with cancer last year.
What did King Charles say in his message?
In the message, the king reflected on the year including the 80th Anniversary of D-Day, the “devastating effects of conflict” across the globe and he also paid tribute to the “humanitarian organisations working tirelessly to bring vital relief” to the conflict.
I offer special, heartfelt thanks to the selfless doctors and nurses who, this year.
He also personally thanked the “selfless doctors and nurses” who supported him and the Princess of Wales during their health battles last year.
The king said: “From a personal point of view, I offer special, heartfelt thanks to the selfless doctors and nurses who, this year, have supported me and other members of my family through the uncertainties and anxieties of illness, and have helped provide the strength, care and comfort we have needed.
“I am deeply grateful, too, to all those who have offered us their own kind words of sympathy and encouragement.”
The king’s Christmas speeches over the years
The location of the king’s 2024 speech was a very different setting to previous years. In 2022, just three months after becoming monarch following the death of his mother Queen Elizabeth II, the king delivered his speech from St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle, the queen’s burial place.
Meanwhile, in 2023, King Charles recorded his speech inside Buckingham Palace.
The king’s cancer treatment update
In February of 2024, the palace announced King Charles’ cancer diagnosis. The type of cancer he has wasn’t revealed, however.
In December of 2025, the king shared an update on his cancer. He announced the “good news” that his cancer treatment will reduce in the new year.
Read more: How the royal family spends Christmas Eve and the gift tradition they follow
He said in a message as part of the Stand Up To Cancer campaign: “Today I am able to share with you the good news that thanks to early diagnosis, effective intervention and adherence to ‘doctors’ orders,’ my own schedule of cancer treatment can be reduced in the new year.
“This milestone is both a personal blessing and a testimony to the remarkable advances that have been made in cancer care in recent years; testimony that I hope may give encouragement to the 50% of us who will be diagnosed with the illness at some point in our lives.”
Do you watch the king’s Christmas speech? Let us know by leaving a comment on our Facebook page @RoyalInsider.
