It’s been a holiday season of firsts for the Windsors, with King Charles breaking royal protocol to invite 45 family members to Sandringham estate this year and holding his annual pre-Christmas lunch at Buckingham Palace instead of Windsor Castle for the first time during his reign. Now, the monarch–who is still undergoing chemotherapy treatment for cancer–will reportedly hold his annual Christmas speech at a hospital instead of a royal residence for a meaningful reason.
Per the source, King Charles was “absolutely enchanted” by the former hospital chapel’s Byzantine-style architecture, which served as an “astonishing” backdrop for this year’s speech. While the hospital closed in 2005, the chapel is still in use and has ties to Charles’s family: In 1928, it was rebuilt with the help of his grandfather, King George VI.
