A Christmas message from the King is coming from the hospital’s former chapel.

This year the Christmas message from King Charles will be delivered from a former hospital chapel, in a year in which the monarch is undergoing treatment for cancer.

The venue for the traditional Christmas Day broadcast is Fitzroy Chapel in central London, which once served as the chapel of Middlesex Hospital.

It’s the first time in more than a decade that a Christmas speech has been recorded from somewhere other than a royal palace or estate – and it’s understood to be from the royal’s healthcare workers. Wanted a place.

The ornately decorated 19th century former chapel building is now used for exhibitions and mass gatherings for people of all faiths.

As well as being associated with health services, the building is also linked to the King’s interest in building bridges between different faiths, backgrounds and religions.

The location suggests that health care and supportive community connections could be the themes of the annual speech, after a summer in which relations in some towns were strained by riots.

The traditional King’s Speech, recorded earlier this month, will be broadcast as usual on television and radio at 15:00 on Christmas Day.

The message of Christmas comes at the end of a year in which King was diagnosed with cancer.

Her regular treatment sessions continue, as they have for most of this year, but as a sign of a positive response, she has planned a busy schedule of engagements and overseas tours in 2025.

Setting up the oratory in the hospital’s former chapel, which was renovated and reopened in 2016, will be a reminder of the efforts of those working in health services and medical research.

King has been filmed with a Christmas tree, which has since been donated to a hospice in Clapham.

Decorated in Gothic Revival style with glittering mosaics and Byzantine influences, the small chapel is located in Pearson Square, a quiet corner of London’s West End.

It was built in the courtyard of Middlesex Hospital serving its staff and patients. When the hospital was demolished, the chapel was retained and restored, with a new development built around it.

It is no longer used for regular services, but is used for community events and concerts and is open to visitors who want some quiet contemplation.

The monarch’s Christmas message has often been recorded at Buckingham Palace or Windsor Castle.

But there are exceptions, most recently in 2010 when it was Filmed at Hampton Court Palace.and earlier in 2006 Southwark Cathedral. There was a speech in 2003. Recorded at a military barracks in Windsor..

The run-up to Christmas has seen the monarch attend a series of seasonal events, including a Christmas market in Battersea, a service to remember those persecuted for their religion and an event in Walthamstow which The diversity of the local community is celebrated.

The King’s Speech on Christmas Day follows the tradition of 1932, when George V made the first Christmas broadcast.

This first speech was scripted by Rudyard Kipling, who lay in state in Fitzroy Chapel before his funeral at Westminster Abbey.