For 90 years it has been the tradition for the British monarch to address the nation and Commonwealth on Christmas Day. Only three times has there been no Christmas message—in 1936 after the abdication of King Edward VIII, in 1938 because King George VI struggled with public speaking, and in 1969 because Queen Elizabeth II felt that the monarchy had been too exposed already that year in a documentary film.
For seventy of those years the Christmas message was given by Queen Elizabeth, but, due to her death in September, it was delivered by King Charles III. His message was akin to the first sermon preached by a new pastor who has succeed a long-serving and much loved predecessor. Charles’s message shed light on the spiritual state of contemporary Britain and on the faith of the King himself.
Unique Personal Moment
Given that Britain is a constitutional monarchy, and the King has no executive power but is merely a symbolic Head of State, there are very few occasions on which the monarch can speak personally to the nation. Almost all other speeches are written for the King by the government, or at least approved by the government.
The Christmas message is an opportunity for the monarch to share his or her heart with the nation, and it has invariably provided an opportunity to urge national unity and bring comfort in times of crisis. While the monarch can speak personally, the late Queen was always careful to avoid making any kind of overt political comment, although commentators were alert for subtext.
King Charles’s message was akin to the first sermon preached by a new pastor who has succeed a long-serving and much loved predecessor.
King Charles’s first Christmas message was thus eagerly anticipated. As Prince of Wales, he was outspoken on many politically sensitive issues, such as the environment, and he has show a lifelong concern for underprivileged Britons, founding the Prince’s Trust to help young people.
The Christmas message this year was given against the backdrop of a painful cost-of-living crisis caused by inflation, especially rising energy prices following the war in Ukraine, and industrial action in several public services including the National Health Service. The controversy generated by the recent Netflix series, Harry & Meghan, was also on people’s minds.
‘Defender of Faith’
The British people were also curious what King Charles would say about his faith. Not only is he monarch, but also Supreme Governor of the Church Of England. The late Queen had been increasingly open and direct about her personal Christian faith in recent years, pointing to Jesus as the Savior. But as Prince of Wales, King Charles had expressed his intention to be “defender of faith” not “defender of the faith.”
The King’s message focused on the image of light coming into the world at Christmas, and he sought to convey continuity but also to signal subtle changes. The speech was filmed in St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle, where the Queen is buried, and he paid tribute to her and to her faith in God. He made the usual references to the invaluable work of the Armed Forces, Emergency Services, Health Services Teachers, public servants and charities caring for those in need.
He declared his own Christian faith, referring to a deeply moving visit he had made to the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, where, he said, “the Lord Jesus Christ” had been born. However, it would be hard to say that his message reflected a clear grasp of the gospel. While he mentioned the late Queen’s faith, he also referred to her “faith in humanity,” and the main focus of his message was the potential of all human beings to do good and help to build a society which practices love of neighbor.
In essence this message was an expression of the Christian-influenced humanism characteristic of liberal religion. The King did not say that hope was to be found in the person and promises of Christmas but rather in faith-inspired human solidarity.
The message made clear that King Charles intends to serve as self-consciously Christian monarch but also emphasized that he values other religions.
The message made clear that King Charles intends to serve as self-consciously Christian monarch but also emphasized that he values other religions. He specifically mentioned the five main faiths in Britain—Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism and Sikhism—and highlighted their unity in seeking to care for people during the cost-of-living crisis. He also included those who have no faith, which a recent census revealed to be the most rapidly growing group in British society.
King for a Post-Christian Nation
The King’s message was a well-judged and well-received representation of contemporary Britain. His tone was more empathetic than that of the late Queen, reflecting the baby-boomer generation to which he belongs. He expressed sympathy with those grieving loved ones at Christmas and spoke more readily of his own emotions and feelings.
He also represented the multi-faith and increasingly secular nature of the country. The U.K. is not longer a Christian nation in any meaningful sense. Less than 50 percent of the population identified as Christian in the recent census, whereas 37.5 percent claim no religion. Only 845,000 out of 64 million people regularly attend the Church of England. Evangelicals of all kinds are estimated to be only 2–3 percent of the population.
Like many Western nations, Britain is navigating the challenge of a post-Christian context, in which only a tiny minority are committed believers in the Lord Jesus, and the state balances the rights and interests of multiple faith communities, alongside a majority who have no religion.
Reason for Joy
The King’s message may not have communicated the gospel, but we don’t despair. The constitutional role of the King, as well as his Christian commitment—whether cultural or regenerate we can’t know at this distance—at least ensures some legitimate place for religious faith in public life, and the King’s commitment to religious freedom for all is something for which we should be thankful.
The New Testament commands us to pray for kings and all those in authority, so that we will free to live quiet lives of godliness and to share the good news of the Savior who is the one mediator between God and man (1 Tim. 2:1–3). We can be thankful that in this regard our prayers are being answered.
British Christians should continue to pray for King Charles and his government that our long-established constitutional rights to freedom of worship will be upheld. At the same time, the lack of gospel clarity and comprehension in his message will cause us to pray even more fervently, in the words of our national anthem, “God save the King!”
God, the sovereign ruler of the universe, has revealed himself to us in his Word so we can know him as he truly is.
Ultimately, the monarch’s Christmas message is an opportunity for evangelicals to reflect on the glory of our salvation through Christ, and to recommit to proclaiming the saving message of the gospel. God, the sovereign ruler of the universe, has revealed himself to us in his Word so we can know him as he truly is. He has spoken to us and shown that he empathizes with our sufferings and griefs. We know that true hope is not found in our human capacity for goodness, because he has revealed the awful reality of our sin. We do not put our faith in humanity to bring salvation and a better world, but only in the Son of God who took on human nature to deal with our sin by his death on the cross.
We must not expect the state, including the monarchy, to do the work of the church. It is the church’s task to shine the true light into the darkness of a fallen world by proclaiming the gospel, and as we do this in faith, God will shed his light into the hearts of men and women and grant them new life.
The Christmas message that truly matters is the message of King Jesus.
The Gospel Coalition