King Charles III is set to focus on healthcare workers in his traditional Christmas message

King Charles III is expected to use his annual Christmas message to highlight health workers, at the end of a year in which both he and the Princess of Wales were diagnosed with cancer.

King Charles III is expected to use his annual Christmas message to highlight health workers, at the end of a year in which both he and the Princess of Wales were diagnosed with cancer.

His King's Speech, which will be broadcast in the afternoon on Christmas Day, was recorded at Fitzrovia Chapel in London, which was part of the now-demolished Middlesex Hospital where his first wife, Diana, opened London’s first dedicated ward for those with AIDS. The building is richly decorated in a Gothic Revival style featuring more than 500 stars in a gold leaf ceiling.

 “I assume that this space, being one of calm reflection, but also thinking about health, about care, about the medical profession, would make it a pretty apt choice,” said Carla Whalen, chair of the Fitzrovia Chapel Foundation’s board of trustees.

The broadcast is watched by millions of people in the United Kingdom and across the Commonwealth.

In keeping with the King’s desire to go into the community, he tasked the team organizing the broadcast with finding a site away from the royal estate. It's a rare occasion when the monarch's Christmas message is not recorded from one of the royal residences, notably Buckingham Palace or Windsor Castle. The last time his late mother, Queen Elizabeth II, recorded her message outside the royal estate was in 2006.

The criteria were clear: the building had to have health connections, a strong community presence and a place of solace and reflection for those with faith or none.

This is the king’s third Christmas speech since he ascended the throne after the queen died in September 2022. It is the first since he was diagnosed with an undisclosed form of cancer in February.