King Charles Breaks Tradition by Filming Royal Christmas Broadcast in a Brand New Location

While Queen Elizabeth usually filmed her Christmas addresses from a royal residence, King Charles is changing things up

King Charles is shaking up his 2025 Christmas broadcast — by filming it in a new place.

On Dec. 23, the palace announced that King Charles’ holiday message will air on Christmas Day, Thursday, Dec. 25, keeping with tradition.

This year, the broadcast was filmed earlier this month at the Lady Chapel at Westminster Abbey in London. The serene setting breaks tradition as it marks the first time that the monarch’s Christmas message was recorded there.

In 2024, King Charles, 77, shook up past precedent by filming the Christmas speech outside of a royal residence for the first time since 2006. He filmed that address at Fitzrovia Chapel at Pearson Square in London, and the former chapel of Middlesex Hospital was a poignant choice at the end of the year in which he announced he was undergoing treatment for cancer.

The King’s treatment for an undisclosed form of cancer continued this year, and he announced the “good news” on Dec. 12 that his treatment will be “reduced” in the new year.

King Charles films his 2025 Christmas broadcast

In contrast, the King’s late mother, Queen Elizabeth, usually opted to record her Christmas remarks at Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle or Sandringham House, where the royals have celebrated Christmas for generations in the Norfolk countryside.

The Christmas broadcast is one of the British monarch’s most famous royal duties and serves as a way for the sovereign to reflect on the previous year, current events around the world and the meaning of Christmas.

King Charles’ great-grandfather, King George V, originated the tradition in 1932, and Queen Elizabeth televised it for the first time in 1957.

The Christmas remarks have been recorded in advance since 1960 in order for the message to be sent to Commonwealth countries for broadcast at an optimal local time, the royal family’s website says.

Westminster Abbey, the setting of the King’s 2025 Christmas message, has an especially rich royal history. It is a major church of pilgrimage, which Royal Communications said is a key theme of the King’s message this year.

Pilgrims are drawn to the ancient abbey to honor the legacy of Edward the Confessor, whose Shrine is at the heart of the abbey, and the Henry VII Lady Chapel is the burial site of 15 Kings and Queens, including Elizabeth I, Mary I and Mary Queen of Scots.

Christmas at the Palace