The King’s Christmas message will focus on the efforts of healthcare workers after a year in which Charles and the Princess of Wales were treated for cancer.
Charles will also use his annual address to the nation to salute communities who have come together in solidarity in the wake of riots, following the fatal stabbing of three young girls in Southport.
The message was recorded in the Fitzrovia Chapel, a former sacred space of the demolished Middlesex Hospital where Diana, Princess of Wales, opened London’s first dedicated AIDS ward.
It is understood that the speech will reflect on international, national and personal challenges and how these can be overcome by communities supporting each other.
Carla Whalen, chair of the board of trustees of the Fitzrovia Chapel Foundation, said of the location of the filming: “I suppose this space is one of quiet reflection, but also of thinking about health, about care, about the medical profession . it is quite an appropriate choice.”
In accordance with the king’s desire to go out into the community, the monarch instructed the team organizing the broadcast to find a place far away from the royal estate. He gave them a set of criteria for the building to meet, including having health connections, a strong presence in the community and providing a place of comfort and reflection for all faiths.
They discovered the Grade II listed building in central London, which features Byzantine-inspired architecture and is lavishly decorated in a Gothic Revival style with marble and more than 500 stars in a gold-leaf ceiling.
Charles chose the chapel without visiting it and was “absolutely in awe” of its beauty, the source said.
Whalen said of his arrival: “He was quite surprised and somewhat delighted, as far as I know, when he came in and found out. “He was very interested in the marble, there are forty types of marble here and many different designs, and he wanted to find out more about the history of the chapel and some of the people commemorated here.”
Charles recorded his message on December 11, one of the rare occasions when a building outside the royal estate was used, with the late Queen recording her message at Southwark Cathedral in 2006 and at Combermere Barracks in Windsor three years earlier.
Speaking about the King’s criteria for the building, the source said: “It obviously made sense that it had some form of health relationship because that has obviously been a dominant theme for the family in all kinds of different ways.
“Secondly, and just as importantly, it brings communities together in some way. Third, of course, it helps if it looks beautiful and is a place of spiritual comfort and reflection.”
The source added that the king was “absolutely blown away by how beautiful it was and how special a place it is.”
after newsletter promotion
Charles announced in February that he had been diagnosed with cancer after treatment for an enlarged prostate, and the following month the Princess of Wales revealed that she was undergoing chemotherapy, which has now been completed, and has partially returned to public duties.
It is believed that the King’s continued treatment is moving in a positive direction, and after initially postponing all public engagements, he returned to events in April, made a grand tour of the Southern Hemisphere in October, and published his diary in the in the run-up to Christmas. very similar to his pre-cancer period.
Designed by architect John Loughborough Pearson and work begun in 1891, Fitzrovia Chapel is a few minutes’ walk from Oxford Street, Europe’s busiest shopping destination, but offers a tranquil space and is a popular wedding venue and art exhibition.
It was used by patients, medical staff and the public visiting Middlesex Hospital, which closed in 2006 and had stood on the site since 1755 before being demolished in 2008.
After the broadcast, the Christmas tree, a live one covered in sustainable decorations, was donated to the Croydon BME (Black and Minority Ethnic) Forum and Can You C Me? project, which aims to address ethnic disparities in cancer care.
It will be placed at the Royal Trinity Hospice in Clapham, south London, which has the Queen as its patron.