On Christmas Day, right after the 6pm news broadcast, I watched the first Christmas Broadcast from King Charles—and it sounds so weird to say that! I thought it was pretty good. Charles expressed some of the same overt religiosity as the late Queen did, however, I also think he was pivoting.
He spent most of his time talking about service to others (which, to be fair, is what Christianity is supposed to be all about…), something his mother might’ve done, likewise the acknowledgment that ordinary people are struggling. It was at the end of his message that I saw the strongest—and most subtle—indicator of change: He explicitly acknowledged people who have no religion.
I have have an open mind about the king. I’m a firm republican (lower case R only…), however, Charles has the opportunity to modernise the monarchy, just as his mother did, and make it possible for it to meet the challenges of the 21st Century. We’ll see.
These annual broadcasts now have lots of personal history for me. Before YouTube, I used to want to watch the Queen’s message on TV every year, and that amused Nigel. That was because he grew up with them—it was no big deal to him. I think he was also intrigued by how fascinated I was by it all. That figures: Right up to the end, we kept surprising each other.
At any rate, another annual blog tradition is completed—in a new guise, the same but very different. Much like life throughout the past few years.
Previously:
The Queen’s Christmas Broadcast 2021
The Queen’s Christmas Broadcast 2020
The Queen’s Christmas Broadcast 2019
The Queen’s Christmas Broadcast 2018
The Queen’s Christmas Broadcast 2017 (and 1957, too…)
The Queen’s Christmas Broadcast 2016
The Queen’s Christmas Broadcast 2015
Previous years’ broadcasts are no longer available.
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