King Charles praises ‘selfless’ people who form
‘backbone of society’ in Christmas speech
Monarch says in his second Christmas Day message that
his coronation was ‘a call to us all to serve and care’
Sammy
Gecsoyler
@SammyGecsoyler
Tue 26 Dec
2023 00.01 GMT
King
Charles has praised the work of volunteers, calling them a “selfless army of
people” who form an “essential backbone of our society”.
In his
second Christmas speech, the king said he was delighted that hundreds of
volunteers and their representatives attended his coronation in May, saying
their presence “emphasised the meaning of coronation itself, above all, a call
to us all to serve one another, to love and care for all”.
In an
apparent reference to rising homelessness, and people housing displaced victims
of conflicts, such as Ukrainians, the monarch highlighted one part of the story
of Jesus when “Mary and Joseph were offered shelter in their hour of need by
strangers”.
Last
Christmas he had underlined the cost of living crisis and the “great anxiety
and hardship” of many struggling to “pay their bills and keep their families
fed and warm”.
In
November, he launched the Coronation Food Project, which will distribute
otherwise wasted food to people struck by food poverty. In Monday’s speech, he
said “we need to build on existing ways to support others less fortunate than
ourselves”.
This month
he said the world remained “dreadfully far off track” in key climate targets
arising from the 2015 Paris agreement and called for “meaningful change” in his
opening statement at the Cop28 climate summit.
Standing in
front of a replantable Christmas tree for his 25 December broadcast this year
the king said the planet had to be protected “for the sake of our children’s
children”.
He added:
“During my lifetime I have been so pleased to see a growing awareness of how we
must protect the Earth and our natural world as the one home which we all
share.”
He also
referenced the wars in Gaza and Ukraine, saying: “At a time of increasingly
tragic conflict around the world, I pray that we can also do all in our power
to protect each other.”
The king
recognised other faiths, describing how “great religions of the world”
celebrated festivals with a special meal, and how it was the responsibility of
“people of all faiths and of none” to care for the natural world.
The speech
was delivered in Buckingham Palace’s centre room, which opens on to the balcony
that overlooks the Mall.
Earlier in
the day the royal family attended the traditional Christmas day church service
at the Sandringham estate.
Royal fans
gathered as the Prince and Princess of Wales walked hand in hand with their
children, George, Charlotte and Louis, behind the king and queen, who were
greeted by about 1,000 local residents, many of whom had waited hours outside
the estate on Christmas morning.
Sarah,
Duchess of York – the former wife of the disgraced Duke of York – joined the
service in what appeared to be a public show of her return to the heart of the
family.
The royal
Christmas Day traditions came as the Queen’s sister described Camilla as
Charles’s “rock” and said she was the “yin” to his “yang” in a relationship
that works “brilliantly”.
Annabel
Elliot, Camilla’s sister, spoke in a documentary set to be broadcast on BBC One
on Tuesday. The film, Charles III: The Coronation Year, also shows rehearsals
for the coronation and a moment where William and Kate arrive at Westminster
Abbey with their children and they greet the monarch.
Richard
Jackson, the bishop of Hereford, who was involved in the coronation, told the
documentary: “I think what struck me particularly is how extraordinarily
affectionate they are. They’re clearly a very close family of all the
generations and in a sense you felt you were part of a family occasion as well
as royal occasion and a national occasion.”
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