King’s Christmas message to come from former hospital chapel

King Charles’s Christmas message this year will be delivered from a former hospital chapel, in a year when the king was being treated for cancer.

The venue for the traditional Christmas Day broadcast is Fitzrovia Chapel in central London, which once served as the chapel of Middlesex Hospital.

It is the first time in more than a decade that a Christmas speech has been recorded from a location that is not at a royal palace or estate – and it is understood the king wanted a location with health service connections.

The ornately decorated 19th-century former chapel building is now used for exhibitions and community events for people of any faith.

As well as being associated with health services, the building is also linked to the King’s interest in trying to build bridges between different beliefs, backgrounds and religions.

The monarch’s traditional speech, recorded earlier this month, will be broadcast as usual on television and radio at 15:00 on Christmas Day.

Christmas message comes at the end of the year King faces cancer diagnosis,

His regular treatment sessions are continuing, as they have been for most of this year, but as a sign of the positive response, he has planned a busy schedule of engagements and overseas trips in 2025.

Delivering the speech in this former hospital chapel, which was renovated and reopened in 2016, will be a reminder to those working in health services and medical research.

The small chapel, decorated in the Gothic Revival style with shimmering mosaics and Byzantine influences, is hidden in Pearson Square, a quiet corner of London’s West End.

It was built in the courtyard of the Middlesex Hospital, serving its staff and patients. When the hospital was demolished the chapel was retained and restored, with a new development built around it.

It is no longer regularly used for services, but is used for community events and concerts and is open to visitors seeking some quiet contemplation.

The run-up to Christmas has seen the King attending a series of seasonal events, including a Christmas market in Battersea, a service remembering those persecuted because of their religion, and an event celebrating the diversity of the local community in Walthamstow. Is included.

King’s speech on Christmas Day It follows a tradition dating back to 1932, when George V made the first Christmas broadcast.