You might be wondering how to watch King Charles’ Christmas speech 2022 as he prepares for his festive address to the UK and Commonwealth as monarch.
Many royal fans might already be planning their festive viewing, making sure to fit in some of the best Christmas movies on Netflix in 2022 around His Majesty's Christmas Day speech. Settling down to watch the royal broadcast is a staple part of the Christmas celebrations for many families. And there could be a significant detail during King Charles’ Christmas speech if he follows the Queen’s tradition of having special royal photos arranged on the desk in front of him.
Either way, all eyes will be on His Majesty and according to The Telegraph, the speech was set to be recorded on December 13 ready to be broadcast during the festive period. Here we reveal what we know so far about how to watch King Charles’ Christmas speech and what we might expect from this festive first…
How to watch King Charles’ Christmas speech in the UK
This year will mark the first time fans will be settling down with their nearest and dearest to watch King Charles’ Christmas speech as he marks his first festive season as monarch and since the loss of Queen Elizabeth. The 10-minute long address will begin at 3pm on Christmas Day on BBC One and conclude at 3.10pm.
This is in keeping with tradition as in previous years the Queen’s Christmas speeches were pre-recorded at a royal residence such as Windsor Castle and were usually shown at 3pm on Christmas Day.
Last year, this special message was available to watch on BBC One, ITV, Sky One, Sky News and via BBC Radio 4, as per RadioTimes.com. King Charles’ Christmas speech will follow this established pattern and fans will be set to enjoy listening to his festive message at 3pm on Sunday, December 25.
If you’re on vacation abroad when the King's festive speech airs then sadly you might not be able to watch as you usually would due to regional restrictions. Luckily there’s an easy solution and you can use a VPN to continue watching this iconic festive programme.
This is a handy bit of software that changes your IP address so that you can access on-demand content or live TV just as if you were at home. Our sister site, TechRadar, has tested all of the major VPN services and they rate ExpressVPN 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.”
How to watch King Charles’ Christmas speech in the US
There are plenty of royal fans living in the United States who might want to tune in and see what King Charles’ Christmas speech reflects on this year. And if you do, then the speech will likely be available to watch internationally via the Royal Family’s YouTube channel or via C-Span like it has been in previous years.
The videos of the late Queen’s televised speeches can still be watched via these platforms. And so it would perhaps make sense that the same will be the case when His Majesty’s speech airs during the festive period.
How to watch King Charles’ Christmas speech from elsewhere in the world
Given that the monarch’s Christmas Day address is officially a festive message to the UK and the Commonwealth it’s no surprise that it’s broadcast around the world too and it’s thought likely that many of the same channels and radio stations will be the ones to air King Charles’ Christmas speech this December too.
In Canada the Queen’s Christmas speech was previously aired by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation via CBC Television and CBC Radio One. Whilst in New Zealand it was shown by TVNZ and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation has reportedly previously broadcast it in Australia.
Anyone living in other countries around the world where the royal Christmas Day speech isn’t broadcast, perhaps the best way for you to enjoy what King Charles has to say this year would be by checking in on the Royal Family’s YouTube Channel for a new festive upload too.
What could King Charles’ Christmas speech be about?
Just like the Queen’s many Christmas messages indicated what we might expect in terms of when and how to watch King Charles’ Christmas speech, we can also speculate based on hers what His Majesty’s could be about. Although the exact words won’t be known until it’s broadcast, the Queen used to use her festive message to remark upon the year that’s passed and look ahead to the next one.
In his first address to the nation as monarch in September, King Charles paid tribute to his “darling Mama” and it wouldn’t come as a huge surprise to some if he did so again this December in his festive broadcast.
Her commitment to the UK and Commonwealth and unwavering dedication to her role was an inspiration to people across the globe. Especially for the first festive message since her passing, fans might be hoping she features in her son’s speech.
Recent reports have also suggested that King Charles could make a “dignified power move” in his message and reference Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. If he does, this would come just weeks after their shocking Netflix series, Harry & Meghan, landed, sparking even more scrutiny and speculation about the King’s relationship with his son.
He affirmed his love for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex in his first address to the nation and if he does so again, it’s perhaps only to be expected that he will also mention Prince William and Kate Middleton.
Aside from family matters, King Charles’ Christmas speech could set out his hopes for 2023 and perhaps address current major issues such as the cost of living crisis and environmental changes, as well as celebrating the acts of kindness and successes that took place this year. Like the late Queen did, he might also express his faith and remark upon the lessons that can be taken from the Christmas story.
For Radio Times, Caroline Frost gave a brief review of the short television address. "For 64 years, the Queen’s Christmas broadcast has been the cornerstone around which our festive TV and radio schedules are built. Most of us have never known anything else – until this year. While her final message in 2021 had its own elements of sadness – with the Queen paying tribute to her beloved late husband – this year will be even more poignant as her son takes her place."
"King Charles, perhaps the most naturally gifted orator of his family, will no doubt reflect on this, while doing his best to lift the nation. Whatever photographs he has beside him, whatever he says – or doesn’t say – about the closest members of his family, he knows that all eyes will be upon him," she concluded.
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