How to watch King Charles's Christmas speech 2024: When is it on, what channels and is it pre-recorded?

Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without King Charles’s Christmas speech and here's all you need to know about how to watch it.

The Christmas period is all about special traditions and whilst the Royal Family have their own - including spending it at Sandringham House - they’re also at the heart of one of many families’ festive customs. Each year people will sit down with their loved ones on Christmas Day to watch the monarch’s yuletide speech. It’s even been suggested by royal chef Darren McGrady, writing in the Mail on Sunday in 2017, that the royals themselves ensure they make time to enjoy it on 25th December.

This Christmas King Charles will deliver his message at the end of what has been a challenging year for him personally after making his cancer diagnosis public in February. His Majesty resumed public-facing royal duties in April and many fans will no doubt be eager to hear his reflections upon the year and hopes for 2025. For those wondering how to watch King Charles’s Christmas speech here’s all you need to know, including when it’s on and how long it will be.

How to watch King Charles’s Christmas speech in the UK

For those wondering how to watch King Charles's Christmas speech from the UK it couldn’t be simpler and you have your pick of the channels as it will be airing on BBC One, BBC Two, BBC News, ITV1 and Sky News on Christmas Day at 3pm. As in previous years, His Majesty’s Christmas message to the nation and the Commonwealth is set to last 10 minutes before the rest of the Christmas Day scheduling continues from 3:10pm.

If you really want to watch it live but will be enjoying your Christmas dinner at the time it airs, it is also set to be broadcast on BBC News at 9:20pm. It’s understood that you can also listen to the message at 3pm via BBC Radio 4 on Christmas Day.

The Royal Family have also tended to uploaded the monarch's Christmas message onto their official YouTube Channel and as these can still be watched there now, we would expect the same thing to happen with the King's 2024 speech. The message will also be available to catch up on via BBC iPlayer and ITVX.

How to watch King Charles’s Christmas speech from anywhere

If you're interested in how to watch King Charles's Christmas speech from abroad then in the past the monarch’s Christmas Day message was made available to watch internationally via the Royal Family’s YouTube channel. It has also reportedly previously been broadcast by TVNZ in New Zealand, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation in Australia and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation in Canada and it’s possible that the same will happen again in 2024.

If you’re going to be away from your usual TV set-up when King Charles’s Christmas message airs you can still enjoy it with the use of a Virtual Private Network - a VPN. A VPN allows you to change your IP address to that of the area of what you want to watch, meaning you can tune in to your favorite shows and broadcasts like King’s festive speech.

Our sister site, TechRadar, has tested all of the major VPN services and they rate Nord as the absolute best. They say, "It’s compatible with all of your devices, supports most streaming services, and ranks among the fastest. You can even install it on devices like an Amazon Fire TV Stick, Apple TV, Xbox, and PlayStation. So for a one-stop-shop, you can’t go wrong with Express."

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If you've never installed a VPN before, don't worry, it's quick and easy. Just follow these three steps:

1. Download and install the VPN following NordVPN's easy-to-follow instructions.
2. Once you've installed your VPN, open the app and select your server location as anywhere in the UK.
3. With your VPN installed and server location set to UK, you can now watch King Charles's Christmas speech online via BBC iPlayer and ITVX.

Is King Charles's Christmas Day speech pre-recorded?

King Charles’s Christmas speech is pre-recorded ahead of its Christmas Day broadcast date and this has been tradition for many years now. The first monarch to deliver a Christmas Day address was Queen Elizabeth’s grandfather King George V and she was the one who gave the first televised Christmas broadcast in 1957. Her Christmas speech was pre-recorded at Buckingham Palace in 1960 and from then, as per the Royal Family’s official website, they continued to be recorded in advance.

This was done so that the tapes of Queen Elizabeth’s message could be sent to Commonwealth countries around the world to be broadcast at a "convenient local time". Since he ascended the throne in 2022 King Charles has upheld the tradition of pre-recording his Christmas Day message. In 2022 he recorded it at St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle and last year’s festive speech was filmed in the Centre Room at Buckingham Palace.

As reported by the BBC, this year's Christmas speech was recorded at the Fitzrovia Chapel. This once served as the chapel of the Middlesex Hospital and it's said that His Majesty wanted a location with a healthcare connection. This marks the first time in over a decade that the monarch's Christmas speech wasn't recorded somewhere at a royal palace or estate.