This year, King Charles III will deliver his first Christmas address as monarch. The former Prince of Wales made his accession to the throne following the death of Queen Elizabeth II, his beloved mother, earlier this year.
The Queen died peacefully at Balmoral, her Scottish Highlands home, on September 8. The tragic news came hours after Buckingham Palace issued a statement saying doctors were concerned for the Queen's health. The Queen’s four children rushed to be by her bedside in Aberdeenshire and were joined by the Duchess of Cornwall and the Countess of Wessex.
King Charles III's Proclamation at the Accession Council took place just days later, on September 10, in the State Apartments on St James's Palace. The proclamation is a public announcement of the accession of the new monarch. However, his coronation will not be until next May.
As for the King's speech this Christmas, the event marks the UK's first King's Speech in almost 70 years, and he will be the first male monarch to address the nation on TV. That's because before Queen Elizabeth's first televised speech in 1957, her predecessor, and father, King George VI, delivered his speeches via radio.
And King Charles has recorded his festive message was recorded on December 13 at St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, a religious building that has a strong association with the late Queen. The monarch’s committal service was held at the place of worship and she was laid to rest in the George VI Memorial Chapel, within St George’s, with her husband the Duke of Edinburgh.
In the background of the King's message is a large Christmas tree decorated with ornaments made from sustainable materials including paper and glass as well as natural products like pine cones.
The broadcast was produced by BBC Studios Events, ahead of ITV whose turn it was to record the King’s first festive address under a rotating producer system between the BBC, ITV and Sky News. A Buckingham Palace spokesman said the decision was taken as the BBC had "experience of shooting in St George’s Chapel this year".
For those wanting to see and hear the new King's message, as is tradition, the Christmas speech will be delivered at 3pm on Christmas Day (December 25th). The speech will last for 10 minutes, until 3:10pm.
It will be broadcast on BBC One, BBC Two, ITV One and Sky One. But for those who may miss it as it airs, it will be available to watch afterwards on BBC Iplayer and ITVX.
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