King Charles leaves Buckingham Palace

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King Charles is expected to pay tribute to his mother Queen Elizabeth II in his first-ever Christmas broadcast. Buckingham Palace has released a picture taken during the recording of the speech, which will be released on Christmas Day. The snap revealed the monarch chose not to sit behind a desk in one of his residences to deliver his address, like his mother used to do in her last years, but, rather, to stand in the quire of St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle.

As the late Queen had strong links with this chapel, this move leads royal watchers to believe the sovereign’s speech will be heavily focused on his mother, her reign and her unwavering commitment to the country. 

This change of scenery was described as “an excellent idea” by royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams. 

He told Express.co.uk: “It has always been obvious that the centrepiece of this year’s Christmas broadcast would be a tribute to the late Queen, who was such an iconic figure.

“It is an excellent idea for King Charles to do the broadcast standing in the quire of St George’s Chapel.

“This is where the Queen’s coffin rested at her funeral before it was subsequently lowered into the vault.”  

The expert went on to recall just how close to her heart were both Windsor Castle and St George’s Chapel.

He said: “The Queen was very fond of Windsor, which is the world’s oldest and largest occupied palace and dates back over 1,000 years. She spent the war years there.

“As Queen she spent most weekends there. She held Easter Court there for a month each year and Royal Ascot was the first date in her diary every year.

“She and Prince Philip spent lockdown there. It is therefore only fitting that this historic broadcast, the first of his reign, will be made from Windsor.

“It also represents a change from the traditional desk with photographs and may mean that the monarch chooses different backdrops for his Christmas broadcasts in future years.” 

Mr Fitzwilliams also explored which other themes the speech may touch on. 

He said: “One of the themes that is likely to feature is the environment and it is significant that the ornaments on the Christmas tree are made from sustainable materials. Footage featuring the visit to Boston by the Prince and Princess of Wales for the launch of the Earthshot Prize, a highly significant environmental award, is likely too.

Charles had already paid tribute to his mother on his first-ever address as the King on September 9.

Sitting behind his desk with a picture of the late Queen next to him, Charles said at the time: “Throughout her life, Her Majesty The Queen – my beloved Mother – was an inspiration and example to me and to all my family, and we owe her the most heartfelt debt any family can owe to their mother; for her love, affection, guidance, understanding and example.” 

The King also paid tribute to the “dedication and devotion” shown by his mother as a sovereign for seven decades.

The picture released by the Palace shows King Charles smiling in a blue suit and tie, while in the background can be seen a large Christmas tree decorated with ornaments made from sustainable materials – including paper and glass – as well as natural products like pine cones. 

Red and white candles as well holly, berried ivy and red skimmia wrapped with red ribbons can also be spotted behind Charles.

In line with the sovereign’s lifelong campaign against waste and in favour of sustainability, after the recording the Christmas tree was re-used by St George’s Chapel in the Dean’s Cloister for visitors to enjoy. 

While the Palace provided a visual sneak peek of the broadcast, the content of Charles’s speech – the first Christmas address by a King to be televised in the history of Britain – remains strictly under wraps until 3pm on Christmas Day. 

It was recorded on December 13 – two days before the second half of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s Netflix docu-series was released. 

As previously reported, the broadcast was produced by BBC Studios Events rather than ITV, despite this year being the privately-funded broadcaster’s turn in accordance with the rotating producer system including also Sky News.

A Buckingham Palace spokesman said the decision was taken as the BBC had “experience of shooting in St George’s Chapel this year”. 

As noted by Mr Fitzwilliams, St George’s Chapel was the place where the committal service for Queen Elizabeth II took place on September 19.

The late monarch was buried in George VI Memorial Chapel, near St George’s Chapel’s quire, which also serves as the last resting place of King George VI, the Queen Mother, Prince Philip and Princess Margaret. 

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