King Charles chooses former hospital chapel for annual Christmas message in break from tradition
The King has poignantly chosen a former hospital chapel to deliver his annual Christmas broadcast.
The message was recorded by Sky News at the Fitzrovia Chapel in central London, after the King personally requested a different location, outside the royal estate.
The venue is a tiny building, originally for staff and patients of the now-demolished Middlesex Hospital.
It is clear he wants to make a statement with this year’s address.
The King is expected to focus on the efforts of healthcare workers following his cancer diagnosis and praise community cohesion in the wake of riots following the Southport stabbings.
King Charles at the Fitzrovia Chapel. Pic: PA
Royal sources say his wish list for the setting included a connection with health, a space used by the whole community, and a venue with “spiritual solace.” He also hoped there would be a royal link.
At the end of a year of change and challenge, it’s no surprise the King wanted to do things differently.
A royal source said the King was presented with options but “immediately selected” the chapel and was “bowled over by its beauty”.
The hospital connection was deliberate they said, with health a “dominant theme for the family in all kinds of different ways”.
The King is still receiving regular treatment for his cancer and will continue to do so in the new year. His diagnosis came just weeks before the Princess of Wales announced she too had cancer.
The royal Christmas broadcast was first made in 1932 by George V, who recorded it from Sandringham House in Norfolk.
The late Queen Elizabeth II filmed her Christmas broadcast at Southwark Cathedral in 2006. File pic: PA
Most messages have been recorded from a location within the royal estate.
But this isn’t the first time a monarch has rejected a royal residence.
The late Queen recorded three of her broadcasts from different venues. In 1989, she spoke from the Royal Albert Hall, in front of two thousand children. In 2003, the location was Combermere Barracks in Windsor in tribute to the armed forces involved with the Second Gulf War. Three years later in 2006, she filmed her message inside Southwark Cathedral in London.
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The King arrives for his Christmas lunch. Pic: PA
‘Calm reflection’
The Christmas message is a personal reflection from the monarch, and 2024 has been a tumultuous time for the royal family.
The royal author, Victoria Murphy said, “There was a sense that maybe this could be quite a stabilising year for the royal family…actually it was anything but.”
As much as possible, the King has been keen to keep going, although tweaks have been made to allow for his condition.
The Fitzrovia Chapel is no longer used for religious ceremonies but is a popular venue for weddings and exhibitions.
There is a royal connection too, with the former hospital’s foundation stone laid by George VI, the King’s grandfather.
The chapel is now a charity, and its Chair of Trustees, Carla Waylen said they were thrilled to host the broadcast, “I assume this space being one of calm reflection but also thinking about health, about care and about the medical profession would make it a pretty apt choice.”
The choice of setting, made by the King himself is without doubt apt and significant. It is an unexpected backdrop at the end of his unpredictable year.
An amber warning has been issued for snow in a part of the UK, likely to cause travel delays and “stranding some vehicles and passengers”.
The warning, which covers south west England, also warns some rural communities could become cut off and is in place until 2pm this evening.
Pic: Met Office
There is also a yellow weather warning for snow covering the southern counties of England until midnight on Wednesday.
The warning stretches from Kent to Cornwall and up to south London and the Met Office said between 2cm and 5cm of snow could accumulate fairly widely, with as much as 10cm over higher ground.
This week is expected to see the coldest nights of the year, with temperatures potentially reaching -14C on Wednesday night and -16C on Thursday night, both in the North East of England and Scotland, the Met Office said.
Weather warnings issued on Tuesday for snow and ice covering the parts of Wales, the North West of England, west and northern parts of Scotland as well as Northern Ireland will remain in place until midnight tomorrow.
The forecaster said some roads and railways are likely to be affected and there could be icy patches on untreated roads.
Pics: AP
Meanwhile the Environment Agency has said at least 300 properties have flooded across England since New Year’s Eve. It estimates more than 41,000 properties have been protected.
Heavy rainfall over the New Year caused significant river and surface water flooding across the North West of England and Yorkshire and snowmelt has brought further disruption to parts of England, particularly the Midlands, the agency said.
Read more from Sky News:
Terrifying firestorm rips through home of film stars and billionaires
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Man says flooding ‘came out of nowhere’
Floods minister Emma Hardy said: “My sympathies go out to the people, businesses and communities impacted by the recent flooding across the country.
“I want to express my heartfelt thanks for the vital work that the Environment Agency and emergency services are doing to keep people safe. People must continue to follow their advice and sign up for flood warnings.”
Flood warnings
Some 100 flood warnings were in force across England on Wednesday, with people urged to remain vigilant over the coming days.
A danger-to-life warning was issued on Tuesday morning for the River Soar near Barrow upon Soar, Leicestershire, but was later removed.
People living in caravan parks in the area were urged by the Environment Agency to act, with a large-scale evacuation needed to save lives.
Firefighters have rescued dozens of people across Leicestershire since Monday, Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service said.
Hundreds of schools were closed across the UK, with road and rail links blocked, as Manchester, Bristol and Liverpool John Lennon airports suspended flights because of the conditions.
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