King’s Speech live – Charles gives Christmas message after joining Kate and William at Sandringham

Royal Christmases have an established pattern. To watch the royal family arrive for church is to see largely the same figures but in different outfits, and the children growing up from year to year.

This is the second Christmas of the King’s reign, both of which have been celebrated at Sandringham. So what is different this time? There were touching scenes of young royal cousins holding hands, and there was a spirit of family reconciliation in the air.

Princess Beatrice included her seven-year-old stepson, known as “Wolfie”, son of her husband, Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi. For the second year running, the King allowed Prince Andrew to join the family for this service.

Sarah, Duchess of York was publicly back at the heart of the royal family after joining the King and Queen at church on Christmas Day.

The former royal, who has had a troubled relationship with the monarchy, was pictured, smiling, and glancing towards the waiting media as she walked beside her ex-husband, the disgraced Duke of York.

Royal fans were treated to the sight of the Prince and Princess of Wales walking hand in hand with their children Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis from Sandringham house on their way to St Mary Magdalene Church.

The King has called on people to protect each other, delivered a powerful message about the environment and praised volunteers serving communities across the country in the second Christmas broadcast of his reign.

The festive address – the second since the death of his mother, the late Queen Elizabeth II, in September 2022 – was delivered standing up in Buckingham Palace’s centre room, which opens onto the famous balcony overlooking The Mall.

Charles called on people to “protect each other” as he said the world is living through a time of increasingly tragic conflict.

King Charles set out an action plan for tackling the climate crisis based on five key suggestions at Cop28, saying up to five trillion dollars will be needed each year, Jane Dalton reports.

His proposals, made in the form of questions, included bringing together different types of organisations to face the crisis, and involving private and goodwill finance, on top of public money.

Secondly, the King suggested targeting that cash carefully at projects driving sustainable changes and away from dangerous practices in all industries worldwide.

King Charles III urged the public to help protect the environment in his 2023 Christmas message.

His Majesty spoke from the Centre Room at Buckingham Palace, where he addressed the nation and Commonwealth countries.

Charles, a keen environmental campaigner who delivered a speech at the recent Cop28 UN Climate Change summit, said: “We care for the Earth for the sake of our children’s children.

“During my lifetime I have been so pleased to see a growing awareness of how we must protect the Earth and our natural world as the one home which we all share.”

The Prince and Princess of Wales have released a photo on Christmas Day of their three children.

Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis appear without their parents in the black and white photograph.

Charlotte sits smiling between her two brothers, with her arms around each of them.

They are wearing white shirts, with Charlotte and George in trousers and Louis in shorts.

The photo was posted on social media with the caption: “Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas, from our family to yours! W & C.”

Luke O'Reilly reports:

The Archbishop of Canterbury has used his Christmas Day sermon to highlight antisemitism in the UK and the suffering of children caught up in the Israel-Hamas war.

Referring to Jesus Christ’s birthplace, which is now in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, the Most Rev Justin Welby said “the skies of Bethlehem are full of fear rather than angels and glory”.

He compared the turbulent conditions of Jesus’s birth with the modern-day plight of children in the troubled region.

Sam Hall reports:

King Charles III‘s delivered 2023’s King’s Speech with a Christmas message focused on paying tribute to “selfless” community volunteers and urging the public to protect the environment.

It is Charles’s second King’s Speech, and was delivered in the Centre Room in Buckingham Palace which leads on to the royal residence’s iconic balcony.

His Majesty also referenced conflicts around the world, saying that he prayed “We can... do all in our power to protect each other.”

The living tree seen in today’s broadcast will be replanted after the broadcast in a nod to the King’s environmental interests.

Holly Patrick reports:

The King has called on people to protect each other, delivered a powerful message about the environment and praised volunteers serving communities across the country in the second Christmas broadcast of his reign.

Here is the full text of the King’s Christmas broadcast:

The King has called on people to “protect each other” as he said the world is living through a time of increasingly tragic conflict in his Christmas broadcast.

The festive address – the second of Charles’s reign since the death of his mother, the late Queen Elizabeth II, in September 2022 – was delivered standing up in Buckingham Palace’s Centre Room, which opens onto the famous balcony overlooking The Mall.

The King also praised the “selfless army” of volunteers serving communities across the country, describing them as the “essential backbone of our society”. He said the presence of community stalwarts among his coronation guests emphasised the meaning of the ceremony – “a call to us all to serve one another”.

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