King Charles breaks tradition with this year’s Christmas speech

WorldPolitics
24 Dec 2025 • 4:11 PM MYT
The Independent
The Independent

The world’s most free-thinking newspaper

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  • King Charles will deliver his Christmas broadcast from Westminster Abbey this year, centred on the theme of pilgrimage.
  • This marks his fourth festive message and the second to be staged outside a royal residence, following last year's broadcast from Fitzrovia Chapel.
  • The broadcast was filmed in the Abbey's historic Lady Chapel, a significant site of pilgrimage and the burial place for 15 kings and queens.
  • The King specifically requested a filming location away from a royal setting, in a break from the tradition established by his mother Queen Elizabeth II, with the BBC producing the broadcast.
  • The message, which will be transmitted at 3pm on Christmas Day, is a rare occasion for the monarch to voice personal views without government advice.

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