In his first Christmas broadcast as the United Kingdom‘s monarch, King Charles III expressed sympathy to those experiencing “great anxiety and hardship” in the midst of a spiraling cost-of-living crisis.
Charles paid tribute to “to all those wonderfully kind people who so generously give food or donations, or that most precious commodity of all — their time — to support those around them in greatest need.” praising individuals, charities, and faith groups that help those in need.
“At this time of great anxiety and hardship — be it for those around the world facing conflict, famine or natural disaster, or for those at home finding ways to pay their bills and keep their families fed and warm we see it in the humanity of people throughout our nations,” he said.
“Christmas was a particularly poignant time for all of us who have lost loved ones. said Charles, 73, who ascended to the royal throne in September following the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II.
“We feel their absence at every familiar turn of the season and remember them in each cherished tradition,” he said in a prerecorded message played in St George’s Chapel, Windsor, where both his mother, Princess Anne, and father, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, were laid to rest.
The monarch’s message, first broadcast in 1932, has been broadcast on television and radio in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth countries for the past 90 years.
It is typically a chronicle of the year’s major events, reflecting the monarch’s reflections of the year.
Charles’ speech comes after a difficult year for the United Kingdom, which saw interest rates and mortgage payments rise, the value of the pound plummet, and the government’s cost of borrowing skyrocket.
A series of walkouts by public employees have also occurred in response to historic wage inflation.
Border staff in the United Kingdom went on strike Friday, disrupting airport services, just three days after thousands of nurses went on strike for the second time in December. Ambulance and paramedic workers went on strike earlier this week, and another is scheduled for December 28.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak insisted that his government had acted “fairly and reasonably” in wage negotiations with the public sector.
The royal family has also recently come under fire as a result of a six-part Netflix documentary about Harry and Meghan in which the couple blames the royal household and the British media for their decision to leave royal duties in 2020 and relocate to California.
