King Charles will break royal protocol with his Christmas speech this year.
For some families across the UK (and even around the world), it’s a yearly tradition to sit down after dinner and watch the Royal reigning monarch address the nation.
And usually, we know exactly what to expect; the King will look back at some of the main events from the past 12 months and wish us all a merry Christmas from a room in Buckingham Palace or from part of the royal estate.
However, it seems as though Charles has decided to shake it up for 2024 as he’s doing something a little less usual.
For this year’s King’s Speech, he will be reflecting on an ‘extraordinary’ year from the Fitzrovia Chapel, a former chapel of the Middlesex Hospital now closed and demolished. He recorded the 10-minute address back on 11 December.
This will mark the first time in 14 years since the staple speech has not been filmed in a building of the royal estate.
For over a century, the chapel was a place of solace for patients, medical staff, and the public, and is described today as a ‘much-valued space’ for all those in the area.
It is believed that filming the speech in the chapel serves as a bit of a reflection of some of its key themes, such as healthcare and community.
Charles’ speech is said to focus on the efforts of healthcare workers following his cancer diagnosis and hail community cohesion in the wake of riots after the Southport stabbings.
This last year was also an eventful for year for other members of the royal family, including the Princess of Wales receiving treatment for cancer.
Of course, as mentioned earlier, it’s not the first time this annual speech has been done elsewhere – it’s just not the most traditional way of doing it.
The late Queen recorded her 2006 address at Southwark Cathedral and also at Combermere Barracks in Windsor three years earlier.
The Grade II* listed chapel used for this year’s address is found in central London, close to Oxford Street. It has Byzantine-inspired architecture and is described as being ‘richly decorated’ in a Gothic revival style with marble and more than 500 stars in the gold leaf ceiling.
If you’re planning on sitting down to watch it, the King’s Speech will air on Christmas Day, 25 December, on BBC One at 3pm.
