King praises health workers and calls for unity after riots Free 251224

In a candid message, he offered his “heartfelt thanks” to the doctors and nurses who helped with the “uncertainties and anxieties of illness”.

The King also praised the efforts of those building links between different communities in what he called the “anger and lawlessness” of the summer riots.

Diversity in ethnicity and faith is a sign of “strength, not weakness”, said the King’s message.

This year’s Christmas broadcast was delivered in the Fitzrovia Chapel in London, the first time a venue outside a royal residence had been used for over a decade.

It had been the former chapel of the Middlesex Hospital, reflecting the theme of paying respect to those working in the health services.

“All of us go through some form of suffering at some stage in our life, be it mental or physical,” said the King, but the “measure of our civilisation” is how people are supported at such moments.

The King’s message, recorded earlier this month, expressed his gratitude for “selfless” medical professionals and volunteers who used their skills to “care for others – often at some cost to themselves”.

He acknowledged the help for others in his family, with the Princess of Wales receiving a cancer diagnosis this year.

And he thanked the public for their kind words and messages, after his own cancer diagnosis was revealed in February.

The broadcast showed him meeting cancer patients, when he returned to public engagements in April, during a visit to University College London Hospital.

The King’s treatment will continue into 2025, but as a positive sign of progress, he is planning a busy schedule of visits and overseas trips next year.