King Charles III calls for compassion in Christmas address

Britain’s King Charles III has used his second Christmas broadcast as monarch to call for compassion in the face of world conflict, as the war between Israel and Hamas rages in Gaza and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continues.

Britain’s King Charles III has used his second Christmas broadcast as monarch to call for compassion in the face of world conflict, as the war between Israel and Hamas rages in Gaza and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continues. The Christmas message – a royal tradition which goes back over 90 years – was filmed in the Centre Room in Buckingham Palace, which leads onto its famous balcony overlooking the Queen Victoria Memorial and The Mall. As the King reflected on the past 12 months, he leaned on the core element of the Christian faith of treating others as you would want to be treated. “At a time of increasingly tragic conflict around the world, I pray that we can also do all in our power to protect each other,” Charles said. “The words of Jesus seem more than ever relevant: ‘do to others as you would have them do to you.’” The 75-year-old sovereign, who has been a passionate advocate of green issues for much of his life and recently spoke at the COP28 climate summit, also touched upon the environment while delivering his address. He told the nation and Commonwealth that after his decades of environmental campaigning, he took “great inspiration” at seeing “a growing awareness of how we must protect the Earth and our natural world as the one home we all share.”