King Charles III focuses Christmas message on healthcare workers in year marked by royal illnesses

LONDON (AP) — King Charles III used his annual Christmas message Wednesday to hail the selflessness of those who have cared for him and the Princess of Wales this year, after both were diagnosed with cancer.

The 76-year-old monarch said he and his family are “continually” impressed by those who dedicate their lives to helping others.

“From a personal point of view, I offer special, heartfelt thanks to the selfless doctors and nurses who this year have supported me and other members of my family through the uncertainties and anxieties of illness and have helped provide the strength, care and comfort we have needed,” he said in a prerecorded speech.

The broadcast came several hours after the monarch waved to a large crowd of onlookers who traditionally gather to see the royal family attend Christmas Day services at a church on Sandringham, the estate on the windswept North Sea coast that has served as a family retreat for generations.

The king walked with Queen Camilla as his eldest son, Prince William, Kate and their three children followed. The king’s daughter-in-law, who has slowly returned to public duties after completing chemotherapy, hugged a cancer patient after the service.

Two of Charles’ siblings, Anne, the Princess Royal, and Prince Edward, the Duke of Edinburgh, were also in the procession.

Notably absent at St. Mary Magdalene Church was Prince Andrew. The king’s 64-year-old brother has retreated further into the shadows amid news that a Chinese businessman had been barred from the U.K. because of concerns he cultivated links with Andrew on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party.

Andrew, once second in line to the British throne, has become a constant source of tabloid fodder because of his money woes and links to questionable characters, including the late American financier and convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

Even after stepping back from public duties, Andrew has continued to appear at family events and his absence from Sandringham suggests a further retreat from the public eye. The king has been under pressure to distance Andrew from the royal family to avoid further embarrassment to the monarchy.

While Andrew said he never discussed anything sensitive with the suspected Chinese spy and had ceased contact with the man as soon as concerns were raised, the scandal raises further questions about his judgment and distracts from the work of the royal family, said Ed Owens, author of “After Elizabeth: Can the Monarchy Save Itself?’’

“The reason why this is a problem for the king is simply that the king is trying to rebrand the monarchy at the moment, centering its focus around him, but also around William, Catherine, what they are trying to do,” Owens said.

“It’s been a very difficult year for the monarchy, not least because of the two cancer diagnoses. And all the positive headlines that the king has been trying to generate of late, unfortunately, are overshadowed by the behavior, the reckless behavior, of his younger brother, who once again finds himself in the headlines.”

The king’s Christmas speech is the third since he ascended the throne after Queen Elizabeth II died in September 2022, but the first since he was diagnosed with an undisclosed form of cancer in February.

The monarch’s holiday message is watched by millions of people in the U.K. and across the Commonwealth, with many households timing Christmas lunch around it.

The king’s treatment, which is believed to be ongoing, forced him to step away from public appearances for two months. He has slowly returned to public life in recent months and was in good spirits on a tour of Australia and the South Pacific in October.

A few weeks after Charles began treatment, the Princess of Wales announced her own cancer diagnosis, which sidelined her for much of the year.

In a voiceover for her annual Christmas carol service at Westminster Abbey, which was recorded this month but broadcast on Tuesday evening, Kate also reflected on the love and support that she received.

“The Christmas story encourages us to consider the experiences and feelings of others,” she said. “It also reflects our own vulnerabilities and reminds us of the importance of giving and receiving empathy, as well as just how much we need each other in spite of our differences.”

Charles spoke at the Fitzrovia Chapel in central London, which was part of the now-demolished Middlesex Hospital where his first wife, Diana, opened London’s first dedicated ward for those with AIDS.

The king had tasked the team organizing the broadcast with finding a site away from the royal estate, and one with health connections, a strong community presence and a place of solace and reflection for those with or without faith.

It’s a rare occasion when the monarch’s Christmas message is not recorded at a royal residence, notably Buckingham Palace or Windsor Castle. The last time his late mother recorded her message outside the royal estate was in 2006.

Charles also paid his respect to World War II troops who perished on the beaches of northern France as well as the few remaining veterans, many of them centenarians, who attended the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings in Normandy in June.

He said it was an “enormous privilege” to meet “the remarkable veterans of that very special generation who gave of themselves so courageously on behalf of us all” but that the specter of war was haunting the world this Christmas.

“During previous commemorations, we were able to console ourselves with the thought that these tragic events seldom happen in the modern era,” he said. “But on this Christmas Day, we cannot help but think of those for whom the devastating effects of conflict in the Middle East, in Central Europe, in Africa and elsewhere pose a daily threat to so many people’s lives and livelihoods.”

On the domestic front, the king expressed his “deep sense of pride” for communities that came together after riots broke out in many towns and cities in the summer following a stabbing rampage at a dance class that left three girls dead and several wounded.