King Charles delivers Christmas address near replantable tree
King Charles near a reusable Christmas tree (facebook.com)
This year, King Charles delivers his Christmas speech from a Buckingham Palace room near a replantable Christmas tree with sustainable decorations, as a photo released by the palace shows the monarch standing before the living tree, potted for reuse, according to The Guardian and BBC.
This year's tree is the first-ever example of using a reusable tree at the annual festive address to the nation. The tree has natural and sustainable decorations, including hand-made wood and paper ornaments, glass baubles, pine cones, and dried oranges as a symbol of the king's commitment to environmental advocacy.
Scheduled for broadcast at 3 pm local time, the address was filmed in a Buckingham Palace room leading to the royal residence’s balcony. This room has been historically important, serving as the gathering place for the royal family before balcony appearances. Following the broadcast, the tree is slated for replanting.
The backdrop of the address includes a view over the king’s shoulder of the Victoria Memorial in the Mall, a tribute to King Edward VII's mother and her reign.
The King is pictured in the Centre Room at Buckingham Palace during the filming of this year's Christmas Broadcast.
— The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) December 24, 2023
The Centre Room opens onto the Buckingham Palace balcony and overlooks The Victoria Memorial and The Mall, where crowds gathered to celebrate The Coronation in… pic.twitter.com/PgZ3X4xvyr
For Christmas, King Charles and Queen Camilla are at Sandringham House in Norfolk, planning to attend a Christmas Day church service in the morning.
Known for writing his own Christmas messages, Charles, like his mother, combines personal reflections with references to current issues and Christian faith. This year, the king is anticipated to highlight sustainability in his festive message while addressing broader themes.
COP28 climate summit
Charles, as a longstanding environmental advocate, recently addressed the Cop28 UN climate summit in Dubai, warning of a “vast, frightening experiment” on the planet and that “our survivability will be imperiled” unless we “restore nature’s economy." He called calling for urgent “genuinely transformational” actions.
On December 13, a new climate deal was reached after two weeks of heated debates at the COP28 summit in Dubai. It marks an unprecedented global commitment to shift away from fossil fuels but its use of vague language raises the potential for some countries to take minimal action. Over 100 countries passionately advocated for robust wording in the COP28 agreement, aiming to "phase out" the use of oil, gas, and coal.
