King praises health workers and calls for unity after unrest

King Charles delivered a personal message of thanks to healthcare workers who supported him during his cancer treatment in his annual Christmas address.

In an open message, he expressed his “heartfelt thanks” to the doctors and nurses who helped with the “uncertainties and fears of illness.”

The king also praised the efforts of those building ties between different communities amid what he described as the “rage and lawlessness” of the summer unrest.

Diversity in ethnicity and faith is a sign of “strength, not weakness,” the king’s message said.

This year’s Christmas show was delivered at the Fitzrovia Chapel in Londonthe first time a venue outside a royal residence was used in over a decade.

It was the former chapel of Middlesex Hospital and reflected the theme of paying respect to those working in healthcare.

“We all experience some form of suffering at some point in our lives, be it mental or physical,” the king said, but the “measure of our civilization” is how people are supported in such moments.

In the king’s recorded message earlier this month, he expressed gratitude for “selfless” medical professionals and volunteers who used their skills to “care for others – often at some expense for themselves.”

He thanked the Princess of Wales for helping others in his family received a cancer diagnosis this year.

And he thanked the public for their kind words and messages after his own cancer diagnosis was revealed in February.

The program showed him meeting cancer patients as he returned to public engagements during a visit to University College London Hospital in April.

The king’s treatment will continue into 2025, but in a positive sign of progress he is planning a busy schedule of visits and trips abroad next year.

Another main theme of the speech was a focus on community cohesion.

The King praised the efforts of those who subsequently tried to build bridges between communities Summer riotsthat was followed Knife attack in Southport.

“I felt a deep sense of pride here in the UK as communities came together in response to the anger and lawlessness in several cities this summer, not to repeat this behavior, but to repair it. To repair not only buildings but also relationships,” said the king.

“Diversity in culture, ethnicity and faith gives strength, not weakness,” said the king, who praised efforts to “respect our differences and reduce prejudice.”

The king’s words echo the Christmas message delivered by his mother, the late Queen Elizabeth, in 2004, when she addressed tensions in the community, saying: “Diversity is indeed a strength and not a threat.”

In a speech on Commonwealth Day earlier this year, the King had also emphasized the same message that “diversity is our greatest strength”.

The Christmas broadcast included images of Prince William and Catherine thanking emergency workers who responded to the knife attack in Southport during their visit, which included a meeting with bereaved families.

Accompanying the speech, a community choir sang the Christmas carol Once in Royal David’s City. And a Christmas tree featured in the show has since been donated to a hospice in Clapham.

There were words of sympathy from the king for those at risk in wars around the world, particularly in Ukraine and the Middle East.

The King praised the “remarkable veterans of this very special generation” as he remembered them Commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings.

The broadcast followed the convention of showing working royals, so neither Prince Harry nor Prince Andrew were spotted.

King Charles spends Christmas Day at Sandringham in Norfolk.

In the morning, crowds gathered to watch him go to one Church service with his familyincluding Queen Camilla and the Prince and Princess of Wales.