Cancer-hit UK king hails doctors in Christmas speech

Britain's King Charles III (C) talks with Reverend Canon Paul Williams after attending the Royal Family's traditional Christmas Day service at St Mary Magdalene Church in Sandringham, Norfolk, eastern England, on December 25, 2024. [AFP]

King Charles III thanked "selfless doctors and nurses" for supporting the royal family in his Christmas address, marking the end of a year during which he and Princess Catherine have battled cancer.

Speaking in a pre-recorded message from a former hospital chapel, the king paid tribute to medical staff, veterans and humanitarian workers, and touched upon topics ranging from global conflicts to the far-right riots in the UK this summer.

The monarch's traditional Christmas message, the first in nearly two decades made outside a royal residence, was symbolically filmed in the ornate Fitzrovia Chapel in central London.

"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," Charles, 76, said.

"I am deeply grateful too to all those who have offered us their own kind words of sympathy and encouragement," the king added.

His daughter-in-law Princess Catherine was also diagnosed with cancer just weeks after him, temporarily removing the two senior royals from frontline duties.

They have gradually resumed engagements, with Kate, as she is widely known, announcing she had completed chemotherapy in September. Charles is still undergoing regular cancer treatment, expected to continue into 2025.

Charles, who became monarch in 2022 after the death of his mother Queen Elizabeth II, also hailed the country's response to divisive far-right riots that took place across England in August and September following the fatal stabbing of three young girls.

"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," Charles said.

Call for peace

Calling for peace, the king reflected on conflicts across the world in a year which also marked the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings.

"During previous (D-Day) commemorations, we were able to console ourselves with the thoughts that these tragic events seldom happen in the modern era", said Charles.

"But on this Christmas Day, we cannot help but think of those for whom the devastating effects of conflict in the Middle East, in Central Europe, in Africa and elsewhere, pose a daily threat to so many people's lives and livelihoods."

Charles praised the "diversity of culture, ethnicity and faith" in Commonwealth countries, after attending a summit in Samoa in October.

"Across the Commonwealth, we are held together by a willingness to listen to each other," Charles added, as the bloc increasingly confronts the legacy of slavery and colonialism under the former empire.

The eco-conscious king notably did not address climate change or environmental concerns this time around, in a shift from last year's address.

However, in the backdrop of the broadcast was a live Christmas tree that was later donated and replanted, a tradition begun by Charles in 2023.

The king ended the speech with a call for "peace on earth".

"And so it is with this in mind that I wish you and all those you love a most joyful and peaceful Christmas," he concluded.

In keeping with tradition, Charles and his wife Queen Camilla, 77, were joined by other senior royals for their annual festive gathering at the family's Sandringham estate in eastern England.

Heir-to-the-throne Prince William and Kate along with their three children were part of the royal entourage attending a morning church service followed by Christmas lunch.

Disgraced Prince Andrew, however, was missing from the festivities after revelations of his dealings with a suspected Chinese spy emerged just weeks earlier.

The king's younger brother was present at last year's gathering despite being shunned from royal life over his ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Also missing were Prince Harry and his wife Meghan -- who quit royal life in 2020 and moved to California -- making it the sixth royal Christmas they have missed in a row.