King Charles’s Christmas message this year is to be delivered from a Buckingham Palace room decorated with a replantable Christmas tree.
An image of the monarch released by the palace shows him standing in front of the living tree, which is kept in a pot and can be used again next year.
Natural and sustainable decorations including some made from hand-turned wood and paper, as well as glass baubles, pine cones and dried oranges, can be seen hanging from its branches – an apparent reference to the king’s environmental campaigning.
It is the first time a replantable tree has been used as part of the annual festive address to the nation and the Commonwealth. After the broadcast it is understood it will then be replanted.
Charles, like the late queen before him, writes his own Christmas broadcasts. Last year’s address – his first as monarch – followed a similar template to the one established by his mother, combining personal reflections with references to topical issues facing the country and the Christian faith.
This year, the king is expected to make sustainability a key point in his festive message but will also address “broader themes”, according to reports.
King Charles, who has long campaigned on environmental issues, delivered a speech at the recent Cop28 UN climate summit in Dubai in which he warned that humans were carrying out a “vast, frightening experiment” on the planet and that “our own survivability will be imperilled” unless we “restore nature’s economy”. He urged those present to take urgent “genuine transformational” action.
This year’s Christmas message is due to be broadcast at 3pm local time (1500 GMT).
The address was shot in the Buckingham Palace room that leads on to the royal residence’s balcony. Over the years, members of the royal family have gathered in the Centre Room before historic balcony appearances, including after Charles’s coronation or trooping the colour celebrations.
The Victoria Memorial in the Mall can be seen from over the king’s shoulder. The monument was planned by King Edward VII as a tribute to his mother and her reign. But, after his death in 1910, it was unveiled a year later by his son King George V.
King Charles and Queen Camilla are spending Christmas at Sandringham House in Norfolk and are expected to attend a Christmas Day church service in the morning.
