Read and watch King Charles first Christmas speech as Monarch in full

King Charles III Christmas speech in full: Read and watch the Monarch’s first festive address to the nation as he reaches out to families struggling to pay their bills and keep warm

• King Charles’ first Christmas speech as monarch paid tribute to the late Queen 
• He thanked the public for their love and sympathy in the pre-recorded address
• The royal family met with gathered crowds today after attending church service

King Charles’ first Christmas speech as monarch paid tribute to his mother the late Queen and expressed hope for ‘peace, happiness and everlasting light’.

In his Christmas address to the nation, His Majesty reflected on standing ‘so close to where my beloved mother, the late Queen, is laid to rest with my dear father’ in the King George VI Memorial Chapel.

He thanked the public for the ‘love and sympathy’ expressed in cards and messages of condolence and praised the ‘selfless dedication’ of the Armed Forces, health and social care professionals, teachers and all those who work in public service.

The pre-recorded message was filmed on December 13 and touched on the ‘great anxiety and hardship’ experienced by many trying to ‘pay their bills and keep their families fed and warm’. 

Earlier on Sunday the King, alongside other senior royals including the Prince and Princess of Wales and Queen Consort Camilla, went on a walkabout of Sandringham to meet gathered crowds.

The King’s speech lasted eight minutes and made sure to be inclusive to multiple religious groups, stating: ‘Our churches, synagogues, mosques, temples and gurdwaras, have once again united in feeding the hungry, providing love and support throughout the year.

‘Such heartfelt solidarity is the most inspiring expression of loving our neighbour as our self.’

It was the first Christmas speech made by a male monarch since Charles’s grandfather, King George VI delivered a pre-recorded message in 1951. 

Read Charles’ speech in full below: 

King Charles III’s first Christmas speech was broadcast on television at 3pm on Christmas Day

Earlier on Sunday the King, alongside other senior royals including the Prince and Princess of Wales and Queen Consort Camilla, went on a walkabout of Sandringham to meet gathered crowds

I’m standing here in this exquisite chapel of St George at Windsor Castle, so close to where my beloved mother, the late queen, is laid to rest with my dear father.

I am reminded of the deeply touching letters, cards and messages which so many of you have sent my wife and myself.

And I cannot thank you enough for the love and sympathy you have shown our whole family.

Christmas is a particularly poignant time for all of us who have lost loved ones.

We feel their absence at every familiar turn of the season and remember them in each cherished tradition.

In the much loved carol, ‘O little town of Bethlehem,’ we sing of ‘how in thy dark streets shineth the everlasting light.’

My mother’s belief in the power of that light was an essential part of her faith in God, but also her faith in people.

And it is one which I share with my whole heart.

In the speech he paid tribute to his mother, the late Queen Elizabeth II, who passed away in September this year. Here the pair are pictured at Balmoral Cricket Pavilion last year

It is a belief in the extraordinary ability of each person to touch with goodness and compassion, the lives of others, and to shine a light in the world around them.

This is the essence of our community and the very foundation of our society.

We see it in the selfless dedication of our armed forces and emergency services, who work tirelessly to keep us all safe, and who performed so magnificently as we mourn the passing of our late queen.

We see it in our health and social care professionals, our teachers, and indeed all those working in public service whose skills and commitment are at the heart of our communities.

And at this time of great anxiety and hardship, be it for those around the world facing conflict, famine, or natural disaster, or for those at home finding ways to pay their bills and keep their families fed and warm, we see it in the humanity of people throughout our nations and the Commonwealth, who so readily respond to the plight of others.

King Charles III pictured here with his family walking to Christmas Day church service at Sandringham in Norfolk on Christmas morning 

I particularly want to pay tribute to all those wonderfully kind people who so generously give food or donations or that most precious commodity of all, their time, to support those around them in greatest need, together with the many charitable organisations which do such extraordinary work in the most difficult circumstances.

Our churches, synagogues, mosques, temples and gurdwaras have once again united in feeding the hungry, providing love and support throughout the year.

Such heartfelt solidarity is the most inspiring expression of loving our neighbour as ourself.

The Prince and Princess of Wales recently visited Wales, shining a light on practical examples of this community spirit.

Prince Louis shakes hands with a member of the public (left) and pulls on his mother’s hand (right) as the Royal Family goes on a walkabout after their Christmas Day church service

The Princess of Wales smiles as she holds the hand of her youngest son, Prince Louis

Some years ago, I was able to fulfil a lifelong wish to visit Bethlehem and the Church of the Nativity.

There I went down into the chapel of the manger and stood in silent reverence by the Silver Star that is inlaid on the floor and marks the place of our Lord Jesus Christ’s birth.

It meant more to me than I can possibly express to stand on that spot where, as the Bible tells us, the light that has come into the world was born.

While Christmas is, of course, a Christian celebration, the power of light overcoming darkness is celebrated across the boundaries of faith and belief. 

So whatever faith you have or whether you have none, it is in this life-giving-light and with the true humility that lies in our service to others that I believe we can find hope for the future.

Let us therefore celebrate it together and cherish it always.

With all my heart, I wish each of you a Christmas of peace, happiness and everlasting light.’

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