King Charles III’s annual Christmas message from Buckingham Palace includes sustainable touches

LONDON (AP) — King Charles III is giving his second Christmas message from Buckingham Palace in front of a live tree decorated with sustainable ornaments.

The message to be broadcast at 3 p.m. Monday will the king’s second holiday address since he ascended the throne but the first since his coronation in May.

The natural decorations adorning the tree were made from wood, dried oranges, brown glass, pine cones and paper. The tree will later be replanted, the palace says.

Charles has promoted environmental causes, such as protecting wildlife and combating climate change long before it became popular, throughout much of his life. He spoke at the beginning of the month at the U.N.'s COP28 climate summit in Dubai.

READ MORE On Christmas Eve, Bethlehem resembles a ghost town. Celebrations are halted due to Israel-Hamas war Pope says ‘our hearts are in Bethlehem’ as he presides over the Christmas Eve Mass in St. Peter’s Estonia, an early country to introduce Christmas trees, celebrates the holiday. See the photos

Last year, in his first Christmas message as monarch, Charles evoked memories of his late mother, Queen Elizabeth II, and paid tribute to the “selfless dedication” of Britain’s public service workers.

Many of those workers spent much of the past year in a fight with the government over pay, creating disruptions in transportation, education and adding to already long wait times at hospitals as doctors, nurses and ambulance workers walked off the job — some for several days at a time — throughout the year.

While Elizabeth delivered her address from a desk, Charles last year stood by a Christmas tree at the church on the grounds of Windsor Castle where his parents are buried.

This year, he will speak from a room in Buckingham Palace that leads to the balcony where members of the royal family assembled after his coronation ceremony.