King's Christmas Day speech 2024: What time is the King’s message and why is it in Fitzrovia Chapel

The King’s Christmas speech, or message, continues as an annual tradition in 2024.

However, there are some differences this year that break with tradition, with Charles having pre-recorded the speech outside a royal residence for the first time in almost two decades.

King Charles III during the recording of his Christmas message at the Fitzrovia Chapel in central London. Picture: Aaron Chown/PA Wire | PA

Here are your key questions answered about the King’s Christmas Day speech.

What time is the King’s Christmas speech in 2024 and where can I watch it?

The King’s Christmas message will be broadcast at 3pm on BBC, ITV and Sky News. People can also listen to the speech on BBC Radio 4.

How long will the King’s Christmas speech last?

The speech is expected to run for about 10 minutes.

How many people watch the King’s Christmas speech?

Last year, the King’s Christmas Day speech to the nation was watched by an average of 5.9 million viewers. This made it the most-watched program on Christmas Day, beating out Strictly Come Dancing, Doctor Who, Call the Midwife and Michael McIntyre's Christmas Wheel.

What will the King’s Christmas speech cover?

The King’s Christmas message will focus on the efforts of healthcare workers following a year that saw Charles and the Princess of Wales treated for cancer.

Charles will also use his annual address to the nation to hail communities who came together in solidarity in the aftermath of rioting, following the fatal Southport stabbings of three young girls.

It is understood the speech will reflect on international, national and personal challenges and how they can be overcome by communities supporting one another.

Why was the King’s Christmas speech recorded in Fitzrovia Chapel?

The message was recorded at Fitzrovia Chapel, a former sacred space of the demolished Middlesex Hospital where Diana, Princess of Wales opened London’s first dedicated Aids ward.

King Charles III during the recording of his Christmas message at the Fitzrovia Chapel in central London. Picture: Aaron Chown/PA Wire | PA

Carla Whalen, chair of the Fitzrovia Chapel Foundation’s board of trustees, said about the filming: “I assume that this space being one of calm reflection, but also thinking about health, about care, about the medical profession, would make it a pretty apt choice.”

In keeping with the King’s desire to go out into the community, he tasked the team organising the broadcast to find a site away from the royal estate.

He gave them a criteria the building must fulfil, including having health connections, a strong community presence and providing all faiths and none a place of solace and reflection.

They discovered the Grade II listed building in central London, which has Byzantine-inspired architecture and is richly decorated in a Gothic revival style featuring marble and more than 500 stars in a gold leaf ceiling.

Speaking about the King’s criteria for the building, the source said: “Obviously it made sense it had some form of health connection, because that of course has been a dominant theme for the family in all kinds of different ways.

“Secondly and equally importantly, that it should speak in some way of bringing communities together… thirdly of course it does help if it looks rather beautiful and is a place of spiritual solace and reflection.”

Charles picked the chapel without visiting and was left “absolutely bowled over” by its beauty, said a source.

Ms Whalen said of his arrival: “He was pretty surprised and kind of delighted, as far as I can tell, from coming in and discovering it.

“He was very interested in the marble. There’s 40 types of marble here and lots of different designs and he wanted to learn about the history of the chapel and some of the people who are commemorated here.”

Where is Fitzrovia Chapel and what is the history behind it?

Fitzrovia Chapel, designed by architect John Loughborough Pearson with work beginning in 1891, is a few minutes’ walk from Oxford Street, Europe’s busiest shopping destination, but offers a tranquil space and is a popular wedding venue and arts exhibition site.

It was used by patients, medical staff and the public visiting the Middlesex Hospital, which closed in 2006 and had stood on the site since 1755 before being demolished in 2008.

When was the King’s Christmas message recorded?

Charles recorded his message on December 11. It is one of the rare times a building outside the royal estate has been used, with the late Queen recording her message at Southwark Cathedral in 2006 and at Combermere Barracks in Windsor three years earlier.

King Charles III meets Rita Kelly, a former worker at Battersea Power Station | Getty Images

Charles announced in February he had been diagnosed with cancer, following treatment for an enlarged prostate, and the following month the Princess of Wales revealed she was undergoing a course of chemotherapy, since completed, and she has made a partial return to public duties.

The King’s ongoing treatment is understood to be heading in a positive direction, and after initially postponing all public-facing engagements he returned to events in April, carried out a major southern hemisphere tour in October and his diary in the run-up to Christmas appears very similar to his pre-cancer period.