King Charles has notably excluded Prince Harry, Meghan Markle, and Prince Andrew from his Christmas Day speech, breaking with royal tradition by delivering his message from London’s former Middlesex Hospital.
The 76-year-old monarch chose to address the nation from the hospital’s chapel rather than a traditional royal setting, marking a significant departure from the customary backdrop of family photographs.
The King’s speech focused instead on community response to riots and paid tribute to medical staff who supported the royal family during cancer treatment.
According to royal expert and historian Dr Tessa Dunlop, the omission of certain family members from the King’s speech was deliberate and meaningful.
King Charles makes stance clear as Prince Andrew and Prince Harry left ‘missing’
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“The King has clearly made up his mind about how to ‘act for the good of all’, choosing to focus on family strengths, not weaknesses, to shore up a nation for a difficult year ahead,” Dr Dunlop told The Mirror.
She noted that the accompanying film highlighted what she called the King’s royal “A-Team”, showcasing key working royals whilst deliberately excluding Princes Andrew and Harry.
The expert emphasised this was a “clever film” that underscored the importance of the monarchy’s current active members.
The King’s speech featured prominent appearances from key working royals, including footage of Kate at Trooping the Colour and Camilla in attendance.
King Charles recorded his Christmas speech at the Fitzrovia ChapelPAThe film also showed Prince William serving food to the homeless, alongside appearances from Princess Anne and the Edinburghs.
The footage included a replay of King Charles’ memorable hug with the New Zealand women’s rugby team.
Dr Dunlop highlighted how these carefully selected scenes demonstrated the active roles of what she termed the monarchy’s current “listening and understanding mission”.
The focus remained squarely on working royals who continue to carry out official duties.
Prince Andrew and Prince Harry are no longer working royalsGettyRoyal author Robert Hardman suggested the King’s unconventional choice of location may have served a strategic purpose.
By avoiding a royal desk or sitting room setting, the monarch circumvented the usual intense scrutiny of which family photographs were on display.
“By avoiding a royal desk or sitting room, the King has also avoided any micro-analysis of whichever royal photographs and portraits are in shot, and thus hinting at who is (or is not) in royal favour,” Hardman told The Mirror.
Instead of the traditional family photos, the backdrop featured only a Christmas tree with sustainable decorations and the chapel scene.
“The Fitzrovia Chapel reveals nothing more tantalising than a Christmas tree decorated with ‘sustainable’ decorations,” Hardman noted.
Princess Kate, Queen Camilla and King Charles with the Royal Family at Sandringham in 2024PA
The exclusion of Harry and Andrew continues a pattern established during the late Queen Elizabeth’s reign.
The late Queen notably omitted both Prince Harry and Prince Andrew from her Christmas message in 2019.
King Charles has since moved further away from this tradition, choosing to exclude mentions of the pair entirely from his seasonal address.
This year’s omissions come amidst ongoing tensions within the royal family, with both Harry and Andrew remaining distanced from official royal duties.
The decision appears to cement their position outside the working royal circle, reflecting a continued shift in the monarchy’s public presentation.