In 1st Christmas speech, King Charles recalls 2020 Bethlehem visit
British monarch says it was ‘lifelong wish’ to visit the Church of the Nativity; pays tribute to all religious groups helping those in need
King Charles III broadcast his first Christmas message as monarch in a speech on Monday that paid tribute to his late mother, Queen Elizabeth II, and recalled his visit to Bethlehem.
“Some years ago, I was able to fulfill a lifelong wish to visit Bethlehem and the Church of the Nativity,” said Charles of his 2020 visit to Israel and the West Bank.
“It meant more to me than I can possibly express, to stand on that spot where as the Bible tells us, the light that has come into the world was born,” he said.
The British monarch has long had ties to the region — his grandmother sheltered Jews during the Holocaust and is interred at the Russian Orthodox Church of St. Mary Magdalene, just outside Jerusalem’s Old City.
Charles added that “while Christmas is of course a Christian celebration, the power of light overcoming darkness is celebrated across the boundaries of faith and belief. So whatever faith you have, or whether you have none, it is in this life-giving light and with the true humility that lies in our service to others, that I believe we can find hope for the future.”
The message was delivered alongside a choir that sang the carol “O little town of Bethlehem.”
The king also said that he wanted to “pay tribute to all those wonderfully kind people who so generously give food or donations,” adding that our “churches, synagogues, mosques, temples and gurdwaras have once again united in feeding the hungry, providing love and support throughout the year.”
Charles, 74, also empathized in the prerecorded message with people struggling to make ends meet “at a time of great anxiety and hardship.” Like some other parts of the world, the UK is wrestling with high inflation that has caused a cost-of-living crisis for many households.
The king also recalled his mother, who died in September at age 96 after 70 years on the throne.
“Christmas is a particularly poignant time for all of us who have lost loved ones,” he said. “We feel their absence that every familiar turn of the season and remember them in each cherished tradition.”
Charles immediately ascended to the throne upon the queen’s death. His coronation ceremony is scheduled for May.
Last week he surprised Holocaust survivors at a Hanukkah reception in north London and joined a group that included Anne Frank’s step-sister on the dance floor for a round of the hora.
