LONDON — 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 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.
