King Charles has shared his ‘deep sense of pride’ over how communities came together in response to nationwide rioting during his annual Christmas speech today.
Charles III made his third Christmas address to the nation today (25 December), opting to break royal protocol by delivering his speech from a former hospital chapel as a nod to healthcare workers after undergoing cancer treatment this year.
During his 10-minute speech, the monarch addressed the reaction to riots which occurred earlier in the year following the fatal stabbing of three young girls at a dance party in Southport.
The devastating attack sent shockwaves through the UK and led to numerous riots, which started in the seaside town and spread to other cites in the following days.
Charles has now shared his pride at seeing how communities came together after the protests and worked to repair buildings which had been damaged in the riots, including a mosque in Southport which had bricks thrown at it.
“I felt a deep sense of pride here in the United Kingdom when, in response to anger and lawlessness in several towns this summer, communities came together, not to repeat these behaviours, but to repair,” the King said of community reactions.
“To repair not just buildings, but relationships. And, most importantly, to repair trust; by listening and, through understanding, deciding how to act for the good of all.”
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Elsewhere in the speech, Charles thanked the ‘selfless’ doctors and nurses who provided care to himself and Catherine, Princess of Wales, following their respective cancer diagnoses.
Back in February the King confirmed that he’d been diagnosed with an unspecified cancer, which is currently scheduled to continue into the next year. The Princess of Wales revealed that she was undergoing preventative chemotherapy treatment a month later after a planned abdominal surgery revealed she had cancer.
“From a personal point of view, I offer special, heartfelt thanks to the selfless doctors and nurses who, this year, have supported me and other members of my family through the uncertainties and anxieties of illness, and have helped provide the strength, care and comfort we have needed,” he said.
“I am deeply grateful, too, to all those who have offered us their own kind words of sympathy and encouragement.”
It’s understood the King chose Fitzrovia Chapel, the former chapel of London’s Middlesex Hospital, as a nod to the healthcare workers who’d provided ‘provided strength, care and comfort’ to himself and Catherine.
“All of us go through some form of suffering at some stage in our life, be it mental or physical,” he added.
“The degree to which we help one another – and draw support from each other, be we people of faith or of none – is a measure of our civilisation as nations.”
