King Charles offers ‘heartfelt’ thanks to doctors in Christmas speech as royals unite at Sandringham
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Prince William, Kate and their three children held hands as they greeted well-wishers on Christmas Day. King Charles has paid tribute to the “selfless doctors and nurses” who provided “care and comfort” while he and the Princess of Wales underwent cancer treatment this year.
![[King Charles with Prince William, Kate and their children at Sandringham]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2024/12/25/13/SEI234217001.jpg)
In his annual Christmas Day speech, he offered his “heartfelt thanks” for those who had supported him and his family, as well as expressing gratitude to members of the public for their “kind words of sympathy and encouragement”. The candid words of praise are in keeping with Charles’ open approach to his illness which saw him publicise his diagnosis in February, in the hope some good would come from his situation. The type of cancer has not been disclosed in a bid to reach the widest number of people.
![[Kate receiving flowers from well-wishers outside St Mary Magdalene]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2024/12/25/12/01JFYVBEDN7TRMQSGQB2Z3B1T5.jpg)
His daughter-in-law Kate also revealed she was undergoing preventative chemotherapy in March, shortly after she stayed in the same hospital as the king to undergo abdominal surgery in January. In his speech, which was recorded in Fitzrovia Chapel, a former London hospital chapel, Charles, 76, also spoke of his “deep sense of pride” at how communities responded to the riots following the fatal Southport stabbings of three young girls, by repairing “not just buildings, but relationships”.
![[Charles offered his ‘heartfelt thanks’ for all the well wishes and support with his cancer diagnosis]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2024/12/25/14/01JFYYDTJ92NMK3Q2QBCYK5NTM.jpg)
