King Charles III on Monday gave his first Christmas speech as the crowned monarch of the United Kingdom, seizing the opportunity to remind listeners of their shared responsibility to protect the planet.
The official Christmas broadcast is an annual tradition that began in 1932, with the reigning British monarch picking a holiday theme on which to reflect. The focus of the broadcasts have ranged from global conflict to personal tragedy. They offer a rare opportunity for monarchs to write a speech in their own words. This year’s Christmas broadcast is the second that Charles has given since the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, and the first following his coronation in May.
In his broadcast this year, Charles focused on the importance of protecting the environment.
“To care for this creation is the responsibility owned by people of all faiths and of none,” he 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.”
He delivered his speech next to a “living Christmas tree,” designed to be replanted following the holidays, a metaphor for his message of sustainability.
Throughout his tenure as the prince of Wales and now as king, Charles has a long record as an environmentalist, from a series of projects focusing on sustainable architecture in the 1980s to his recent opening statement at this year’s United Nations climate change summit, where he emphasized the urgency of climate disasters.
The rest of the video featured footage from Charles’ coronation and of the royal family, with a focus on his elder son, Prince William, and his wife, Kate, the princess of Wales, along with a notable exclusion of his younger son, the estranged Prince Harry, and his wife, Meghan.
Charles also incorporated biblical themes of “the Christmas Story” into the eight-minute address, as well as a wish to “protect each other” in a “time of increasingly tragic conflict around the world.”
While the role of the Christmas broadcast is just a symbolic tradition, its message is an indicator of the influence Charles will attempt to retain as monarch in the years to come.
