King Charles’ 2024 Christmas Message Will Focus on Healthcare Workers: ‘A Pretty Apt Choice’

Mar. 15, 2025

King Charles III smiles during The King’s Foundation’s annual ‘Crafts at Christmas’ at Highgrove Gardens on Dec. 13, 2024 in Tetbury, England.Photo:Chris Jackson - Pool/Getty

Chris Jackson - Pool/Getty

After a difficult year that saw bothKing CharlesandKate Middletonreceive cancer diagnoses, the King has chosen to focus his annual Christmas message on healthcare workers.

The King, 76, wasdiagnosed with cancerfollowing a procedure to treat a benign enlarged prostate in January. He publicly announced his cancer diagnosis on Feb. 5, and his treatment continues and will continue on into 2025.

King Charles III leaves Waltham Forest Town Hall after a reception on Dec. 20, 2024.Wiktor Szymanowicz/Anadolu via Getty

Wiktor Szymanowicz/Anadolu via Getty

The Princess of Wales, 42, also had a procedure — hers an abdominal surgery — in January, and in the aftermath of that operation, cancer was detected. She publiclyannounced her diagnosison March 22, and on Sept. 9 revealed that she hadcompleted her chemotherapy treatment.

In addition to a focus on healthcare workers,The Guardianreported that Charles will use his yearly Christmas broadcast — which airs at 3 p.m. U.K. time every year — to hail communities that banded together in solidarity in the aftermath of rioting following the fatal stabbing of three young girls at aTaylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport, England in July.

The message was symbolically filmed at Fitzrovia Chapel, located in the demolished Middlesex hospital wherePrincess Dianaonce opened London’s first dedicated AIDS ward. (The hospital closed in 2006 and was demolished two years later in 2008.) It marked the first time the Christmas speech was filmed away from a royal residence in 18 years.

Princess Diana.Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty Images

“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, the chair of the Fitzrovia Chapel Foundation’s board of trustees.

According toThe Guardian, Charles intentionally tasked the team organizing his Christmas broadcast to find a site away from royal residences, giving them a list of criteria the building must fulfill, “including having health connections, a strong community presence and providing all faiths a place of solace and reflection.”

Fitzrovia Chapel, where King Charles filmed his 2024 Christmas message on Dec. 11, 2024.Getty

Getty

“He was pretty surprised and kind of delighted, as far as I can tell, from coming in and discovering it,” Whalen said. “He was very interested in the marble. There’s 40 types of marble here and lots of different designs, and he wanted to learn about the history of the chapel and some of the people who are commemorated here.”

The King recorded the address on Dec. 11 alongside a Christmas tree covered with sustainable decorations that was donated to Croydon BME (Black and Minority Ethnic) Forum and Macmillan Cancer Support’s Can You C Me? project, which strives to address ethnic inequalities in cancer care. It will be placed in the Royal Trinity Hospice in Clapham, whichQueen Camillaserves as its patron.

“Obviously it made sense it had some form of health connection, because that, of course, has been a dominant theme for the family in all kinds of different ways,” a source toldThe Guardian. “Secondly and equally importantly, that it should speak in some way of bringing communities together … Thirdly, of course, it does help if it looks rather beautiful and is a place of spiritual solace and reflection.”

King Charles filming his annual Christmas broadcast at Fitzrovia Chapel on Dec. 11, 2024.The Royal Family/X

The Royal Family/X

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source: people.com