Another main theme of the speech was the focus on community cohesion.
The King praised the efforts of those who sought to build bridges between communities after the summer riots that followed the knife attack in Southport.
“I felt a deep sense of pride here in the UK when communities came together, in response to the anger and lawlessness in so many cities this summer, not to repeat these behaviours, but to fix them. Not just to fix buildings, but to fix relationships too,” the King said.
The king said that “cultural, ethnic and belief diversity provides strength, not weakness,” praising efforts made to “respect our differences and defeat bias.”
The king’s words echo the Christmas message sent by his late mother, Queen Elizabeth, in 2004, when she addressed societal tensions, saying that “diversity is actually a strength, not a threat.”
In a speech earlier this year on Commonwealth Day, the King also emphasized the same message that “diversity is our greatest strength”.
The Christmas broadcast included images of Prince William and Catherine thanking emergency workers who responded to the knife attack in Southport, in a visit that included a meeting with bereaved families.
To accompany the speech, the community choir sang the hymn Once Upon a Time in Royal David City. The Christmas tree seen in the broadcast has since been donated to a hospice in Clapham.
There were words of sympathy from the King for those at risk in wars around the world, with conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East.
The king paid tribute to the “remarkable veterans of this very distinguished generation” as he recalled the 80th anniversary celebrations of the Norman landing.
The broadcast followed the tradition of showing working royals, so there was no sighting of Prince Harry or Prince Andrew.
King Charles spends Christmas Day at Sandringham in Norfolk.
Crowds gathered in the morning to watch him go to church with his family, including Queen Camilla and the Prince and Princess of Wales.
