King Charles and royal family, minus Andrew, gather for Christmas as king’s speech highlights unity and diversity

King Charles III and members of the royal family — minus his disgraced brother, the former Prince Andrew — gathered for Christmas at the king’s private Sandringham Estate, where they traditionally spend the holiday. In the king’s annual Christmas speech, broadcast across Britain and the Commonwealth, he stressed the importance of both unity and diversity.

In the morning, Charles and Queen Camilla, along with the Prince and Princess of Wales, William and Kate, their children and extended family members, walked to services at St. Mary Magdalene Church at Sandringham, in Norfolk, about 100 miles north of London. 

Members of the royal family also stopped to greet people in the crowd outside.

Andrew was not present for the holiday gathering, BBC News reported, in the wake of the scandal over his ties to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. He did not attend last year either. In October, he was stripped of his remaining titles and honors, including prince, and is now known as Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.

Later in the day, the king’s annual Christmas Day speech was watched by millions of people in the U.K. and across the Commonwealth, an association of 56 nations with historic ties to Britain. 

“As I meet people of different faiths, I find it enormously encouraging to hear how much we have in common, a shared longing for peace and a deep respect for all life,” Charles said in his address, which was recorded earlier this month at Westminster Abbey.

Amid “division both at home and abroad,” he said, there are “values of which we must never lose sight.”

“With the great diversity of our communities, we can find the strength to ensure that right triumphs over wrong.” 

Westminster Abbey, in the heart of London, is where monarchs have been crowned since William the Conqueror in 1066, and it has also been the site of numerous royal weddings.

The speech was accompanied by a video of members of the royal family, including scenes from the king’s historic trip to the Vatican, where he prayed with Pope Leo XIV in an effort to forge closer relations between the Church of England and the Catholic Church. 

The speech is one of the rare occasions when Charles, 77, can voice his own views and doesn’t seek guidance from the government. The remarks typically have a strong religious framework, reflect current issues and sometimes draw on the monarch’s personal experiences.

The king’s speech was followed by a performance by a Ukrainian choir and London’s Royal Opera Chorus, in a sign of support for Ukraine in its war against Russia’s invasion.

This was Charles’ fourth Christmas speech since ascending to the throne after his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, died in September 2022.

The address comes just two weeks after Charles made a deeply personal television appearance in which he said “good news” from his doctors meant that he would be able to reduce his treatment for cancer in the new year.

The king was diagnosed with a still undisclosed form of cancer in early 2024. Buckingham Palace says his treatment is now moving to a “precautionary phase” and his condition will be monitored to ensure his continued recovery.

During last year’s Christmas address, Charles honored care workers around the country and gave a special thanks to the doctors and nurses who supported him after his cancer diagnosis.

Catherine, Princess of Wales, also underwent treatment for cancer last year. She said in January that she was in remission after going through some “hard times” during her recovery. Kate, as she is widely called, has not shared details about what type of cancer it was. 

She and her husband Prince William, the heir to the throne, have three children: 12-year-old Prince George of Wales, 10-year-old Princess Charlotte of Wales and 7-year-old Prince Louis of Wales.