CNN
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Britain’s King Charles paid a heartfelt tribute to his mother, the late Queen Elizabeth, during his first Christmas broadcast as monarch on Sunday.
Speaking in a pre-recorded address from St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle, where the Queen was laid to rest alongside her husband Prince Philip, the new King expressed his gratitude to members of the public who had shown support. love and sympathy in the wake of her. died in September.
“I remember the deeply touching letters, cards and messages that so many of you sent to my wife and myself and I cannot thank you enough for the love and sympathy you have shown to all of our family. “, did he declare.
“Christmas is an especially poignant time for all of us who have lost loved ones. We feel their absence at every familiar turn of the season and remember them in every cherished tradition.
King Charles honored the Queen’s legacy throughout his speech, remembering her belief in the power of “eternal light” and her faith in people to touch the lives of others.
“In the much-loved Christmas carol ‘O Little Town of Bethlehem’ we sing how ‘in your dark streets shines the eternal light’. My mother’s belief in the power of this light was an essential part of her faith in God , but also of his faith in people – and it is one that I share with all my heart. It is a belief in the extraordinary capacity of each person to touch, with kindness and compassion, the lives of others and to shine a light in the world around him,” he said.
“It is the essence of our community and the very foundation of our society.”
Sunday’s message marks the first annual Christmas Day broadcast in Britain not delivered by the Queen since her first message in 1957. In her last Christmas speech last year, she spoke of ‘passing the baton’ to the next generation.
King Charles also made an indirect reference to the war in Ukraine and the cost of living crisis, speaking of a time of ‘anxiety’ and ‘difficulty’ as those around the world face conflict and that those at home are struggling to pay their bills and “keep their families fed and warm.”
The king’s speech continues a royal family tradition that dates back 90 years and comes days after the first images of the new monarch’s British banknotes were unveiled by the Bank of England.
The portrait of King Charles will appear on £5, £10, £20 and £50 banknotes. Meanwhile, the rest of the design will remain the same as the current notes which feature the late Queen Elizabeth on the front.
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