King Charles delivers annual Christmas TV broadcast

Royal Family Channel

King Charles delivers his annual Christmas TV broadcast, recorded at Westminster Abbey, where he says individuals and communities succeeding in “triumph of courage over adversity” gives him “hope”. Report by Blairm. Like us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/itn and follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/itn

Transcript

00:00¶¶

00:30¶¶

01:00Happy and glorious,

01:06come to Him over us,

01:13O Savior and King.

01:19A few weeks ago, the Queen and I were delighted

01:30to make a state visit to the Vatican,

01:33where we prayed with Pope Leo

01:36in a historic moment of spiritual unity.

01:40Together, we celebrated the Jubilee theme,

01:42Pilgrims of Hope.

01:46Pilgrimage is a word less used today,

01:49but it has particular significance for our modern world,

01:53and especially at Christmas.

01:56It is about journeying forward, into the future,

02:00while also journeying back to remember the past

02:04and learn from its lessons.

02:07We did this during the summer,

02:10as we celebrated the 80th anniversaries of VE and VJ Day.

02:14The end of the Second World War is now remembered

02:19by fewer and fewer of us as the years pass.

02:22But the courage and sacrifice of our servicemen and women,

02:28and the way communities came together

02:31in the face of such great challenge,

02:33carry a timeless message for us all.

02:38These are the values which have shaped our country

02:41and the Commonwealth.

02:44As we hear of division, both at home and abroad,

02:48they are the values of which we must never lose sight.

02:52For instance, it is impossible not to be deeply moved

02:57by the ages of the fallen,

02:59as the gravestones in our war cemeteries remind us.

03:03The young people who fought and helped save us from defeat

03:07in both world wars were often only 18, 19, or 20 years of age.

03:16Journeying is a constant theme of the Christmas story.

03:20The holy family made a journey to Bethlehem

03:23and arrived homeless without proper shelter.

03:27The wise men made a pilgrimage from the east

03:31to worship at the cradle of Christ.

03:33And the shepherds journeyed from field to town

03:38in search of Jesus, the Saviour of the world.

03:41In each case, they journeyed with others

03:46and relied on the companionship and kindness of others.

03:51Through physical and mental challenge,

03:54they found an inner strength.

03:57To this day, in times of uncertainty,

04:01these ways of living are treasured by all the great faiths

04:06and provide us with deep wells of hope,

04:11of resilience in the face of adversity,

04:15peace through forgiveness,

04:18simply getting to know our neighbours

04:21and by showing respect to one another,

04:24creating new friendships.

04:26Indeed, as our world seems to spin ever faster,

04:33our journeying may pause to quieten our minds,

04:37in T.S. Eliot's words,

04:39at the still point of the turning world,

04:43and allow ourselves to renew.

04:46In this, with the great diversity of our communities,

04:51we can find the strength to ensure

04:54that right triumphs over wrong.

04:58It seems to me that we need to cherish

05:01the values of compassion and reconciliation,

05:05the way our Lord lived and died.

05:09This year, I have heard so many examples of this,

05:13both here and abroad.

05:16These stories of the triumph of courage over adversity

05:21give me hope,

05:23from our venerable military veterans

05:25to selfless humanitarian workers

05:28in this century's most dangerous conflict zones,

05:32to the ways in which individuals and communities

05:36display spontaneous bravery,

05:39instinctively placing themselves

05:42in harm's way to defend others.

05:47As I meet people of different faiths,

05:50I find it enormously encouraging

05:53to hear how much we have in common,

05:56a shared longing for peace

05:59and a deep respect for all life.

06:02If we can find time in our journey through life

06:07to think on these virtues,

06:09we can all make the future more hopeful.

06:14Of course, the greatest pilgrimage of all

06:17is the journey we celebrate today,

06:20the story of the one who came down to earth from heaven,

06:24whose shelter was a stable,

06:27and who shared his life with the poor and lowly.

06:31It was a pilgrimage with a purpose,

06:36heralded by angels,

06:38that there should be peace on earth.

06:41That prayer for peace and reconciliation,

06:46for doing to others as we would have them do to us,

06:50which rang out over the fields near Bethlehem more than 2,000 years ago,

06:57still reverberates from there and around the world today.

07:03It is a prayer for our times and our communities too,

07:09as we journey through our lives.

07:12So, with these words and my whole heart,

07:18I wish you all a most peaceful and very happy Christmas.

07:25SONG PLAYS

07:35SONG PLAYS

07:40SONG PLAYS

07:50Merry, merry, merry Christmas.

08:20Merry, merry, merry, merry, merry, merry, merry, merry, merry, merry, merry, merry, merry, merry, merry, merry, merry, merry, merry, merry, merry, merry, merry, merry, merry, merry, merry, merry, merry, merry, merry, merry, merry, merry, merry, merry, merry, merry, merry, merry, merry, merry, merry, merry, merry, merry, merry, merry, merry, merry, merry, merry, merry, merry, merry, merry, merry, merry, merry, merry, merry, merry, merry, merry, merry, merry, merry, merry, merry, merry, merry, merry, merry, merry, merry, merry, merry, merry, merry, merry, merry, merry, merry, merry, merry, merry, merry, merry, merry, merry, merry, merry, merry, merry, merry, merry, merry, merry, merry, merry, merry, merry, merry, merry, merry, merry, merry, merry, merry, merry, merry, merry

08:50Merry Christmas!

08:59Merry Christmas!

09:06Merry Christmas!

09:22Merry Christmas!

09:28Merry Christmas!

09:40Merry Christmas!

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