King Charles' First Christmas Speech
Source: You Tube (The Royal Family Channel)
I am standing here in this exquisite Chapel of St George at Windsor Castle, so close to where my beloved mother, the late Queen, is laid to rest with my dear father.I am reminded of the deeply touching letters, cards and messages which so many of you have sent my wife and myself and I cannot thank you enough for the love and sympathy you have shown our whole family.
Christmas is a particularly poignant time for all of us who have lost loved ones. We feel their absence at every familiar turn of the season and remember them in each cherished tradition.
In the much-loved carol O Little Town Of Bethlehem we sing of how “in thy dark streets shineth the everlasting light”.
My mother’s belief in the power of that light was an essential part of her faith in God, but also her faith in people and it is one which I share with my whole heart.
It is a belief in the extraordinary ability of each person to touch, with goodness and compassion, the lives of others, and to shine a light in the world around them.
This is the essence of our community and the very foundation of our society.
We see it in the selfless dedication of our armed forces and emergency services who work tirelessly to keep us all safe, and who performed so magnificently as we mourned the passing of our late Queen.
We see it in our health and social care professionals, our teachers and indeed all those working in public service, whose skill and commitment are at the heart of our communities.
And at this time of great anxiety and hardship, be it for those around the world facing conflict, famine or natural disaster, or for those at home finding ways to pay their bills and keep their families fed and warm, we see it in the humanity of people throughout our nations and the Commonwealth who so readily respond to the plight of others.
I particularly want to pay tribute to all those wonderfully kind people who so generously give food or donations, or that most precious commodity of all, their time, to support those around them in greatest need, together with the many charitable organisations which do such extraordinary work in the most difficult circumstances.
Our churches, synagogues, mosques, temples and gurdwaras, have once again united in feeding the hungry, providing love and support throughout the year. Such heartfelt solidarity is the most inspiring expression of loving our neighbour as our self.
The Prince and Princess of Wales recently visited Wales, shining a light on practical examples of this community spirit.
Some years ago, I was able to fulfil a life-long wish to visit Bethlehem and the Church of the Nativity.
There, I went down into the Chapel of the Manger and stood in silent reverence by the silver star that is inlaid on the floor and marks the place of our Lord Jesus Christ’s birth.
It meant more to me than I can possibly express to stand on that spot where, as the Bible tells us, ‘the light that has come into the world’ was born.
While Christmas is, of course, a Christian celebration, the power of light overcoming darkness is celebrated across the boundaries of faith and belief.
So, whatever faith you have, or whether you have none, it is in this life-giving light, and with the true humility that lies in our service to others, that I believe we can find hope for the future.
Let us therefore celebrate it together, and cherish it always.
With all my heart, I wish each of you a Christmas of peace, happiness and everlasting light.
Charles' mother made 69 Christmas speeches:
Pronunciation:
close /kləʊs/ (adj), /kləʊz/ (v)
beloved /bɪˈlʌv.ɪd/ (3 syllables) or /bɪˈlʌvd/ (2 syllables)
poignant /ˈpɔɪ.njənt/ First syllable rhymes with boy. Then /nj/ as in onion /ˈʌn.jən/ and /ənt/ as in brilliant /ˈbrɪl.jənt/.
belief /bɪˈliːf/ 😍 /beliːf/ 😡
selfless /ˈself.ləs/ 😍 /ˈself.les/ 😡 Look at the exercise with -less adjectives at the end of the post - Morales kicks where it hurts. You can also try this Quizlet on -less adjectives.
I struggle with this one. For me mourn does not rhyme with born /'bɔːn/. Listen to the Scots pronunciation of both in Word Reference. The mo- and the bo- are similar to the difference between low and law.
anxiety /æŋˈzaɪ.ə.ti/ has four syllables while anxious /ˈæŋk.ʃəs/ has two.
precious /ˈpreʃ.əs/ has the same final sound as anxious /ˈæŋk.ʃəs/
circumstance /ˈsɜː.kəm.stɑːns/ 😍 /ˈsɜː.kuːm.stɑːns/ 😡
I pronounce the h in whether but it still rhymes with weather /ˈweð.ər/.
Comments
Hi Graham,
I´m sorry, but I seem this King Charles´ speech is a bit puerile. He is saying to the English that they must be selfless, faithful, believer, heartfelt, supportive, generous, kind and so on. I think this is suitable for a bishop but not for a king. Could be he was a good person, given that he talks about aforementioned principles constantly.
I like that he uses the first person of plural -we see- in his speech and, too, he uses the adjective -our- some times. That is good, in my opinion, because it proves that he is with people like good politician or king. I suppose that he was surrounded by clever advisors or expert, although I know that you laugh at this word.
I don´t understand the reason why he talks about a light and this light shines in the world to refer to good people and society. For whatever reason, I have just read in the some newspaper that his speech has been listen by a lot of English people.
See you.
You must remember that King Charles is head of the Church of England so it would be very surprising if he didn't urge people to show selflessness and other such attributes. Give me Charles´ speech before Felipe's any day.
I have added some links (in red) to the post and a note on how to pronounce some words.
I´m sorry, but I think Charles' speech is a bit puerile / King Charles´ speech seems a bit puerile. He is telling the English to be selfless, faithful, supportive, generous, kind and so on (believer is a noun and heartfelt doesn't describe people. I think this is more suited to a bishop rather than a king. He appears to be a good person, given that he talks about the aforementioned principles constantly.
I like his use of the first person plural -we see- in his speech and, what is more, he uses the adjective -our- sometimes. That is good, in my opinion, because it proves that he is with the people as a good politician or king should be. I suppose that he was surrounded by clever advisors or experts, although I know that you laugh at this word. (It´s just that I don't automatically take the word of a so-called expert)
I don´t understand the reason why he talks about a light and this light shines in the world to refer to good people and society. For whatever reason, I have just read in the same newspaper that his speech has been listen to by a lot of English people.