King’s Christmas message features video montage of Kate and William volunteering with their children, and footage of Anne and Edward – but there is no sign of Harry and Meghan or Andrew

The King’s speech this year paid homage to all of the working royals as it deployed a montage of royal highlights of the last 12 months.

Chief of all was the King’s coronation on May 6, with video footage showing clips from the big day showing pivotal moments such as King Charles and Queen Camilla on the balcony of Buckingham Palace.

The King also included the work of other key royals such as the Prince and Princess of Wales, alongside their children, Prince George, 10, Princess Charlotte, eight and Prince Louis, five. 

Video clips accompanying the speech also showed all senior working royals during the ten minute address: his wife the Queen, naturally, as well as the Prince and Princess of Wales, the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh and the Princess Royal.

But the montage did not include Prince Harry or Meghan, who are spending Christmas in LA, or the disgraced Prince Andrew. 

The King delivered his message against a montage backdrop of the other working royals

The Christmas broadcast, the second of Charles’s reign, was delivered standing up in Buckingham Palace’s centre room which opens onto the famous balcony overlooking The Mall. The Queen Victoria Memorial could be seen in the background.

The King told the nation and Commonwealth: ‘Over this past year my heart has been warmed by countless examples of the imaginative ways in which people are caring for one another – going the extra mile to help those around them simply because they know it is the right thing to do: at work and at home; within and across communities.

‘My wife and I were delighted when hundreds of representatives of that selfless army of people – volunteers who serve their communities in so many ways and with such distinction – were able to join us in Westminster Abbey for the coronation earlier this year.

‘They are an essential backbone of our society.’

Footage was shown of seated coronation guests, the King processing through the abbey after his crowning, and finally appearing on the palace’s balcony with the Queen as they acknowledged the crowds with a wave.

Charles added: ‘Their presence meant so much to us both and emphasised the meaning of coronation itself: above all, a call to us all to serve one another; to love and care for all.’

The Christmas broadcast was written by the King and had a strong Christian element, a reflection of the head of state who described himself as a ‘committed Anglican Christian’ during a reception for faith leaders after the death of Queen Elizabeth II.

For the second successive year the King recognised other faiths, describing how ‘great religions of the world’ celebrated festivals with a special meal, and how it was the responsibility of ‘people of all faiths and of none’ to care for the natural world.

The speech included a montage of working royals, including the Princess of Wales and Princess Charlotte

King Charles also included Kate’s recent Christmas carol concert, which was broadcast on television on Christmas Eve

The clips showed scenes from the King’s May 6 coronation, including his balcony appearance at Buckingham Palace

Footage was shown of Charles and Camilla visiting a food distribution hub in Oxfordshire to launch his Coronation Food Project.

The Prince and Princess of Wales and their children were also featured in a clip, helping scouts from the 3rd Upton Scout Group in Slough renovate their hut and grounds, as part of The Big Help Out event, during the coronation celebration weekend.

It featured shots of the Princess of Wales guiding her three children as they volunteered in the days after the coronation.

The children were helping a local Scout group and helped revamp their hut in Slough. 

As the films were shown, Charles said: ‘Throughout the year, my family have witnessed how people of all ages are making a difference to their communities.

‘This is all the more important at a time of real hardship for many, when we need to build on existing ways to support others less fortunate than ourselves.’

Charles featured in another clip planting a tree with 10-year-old environmental activist Karen Kimani in Nairobi during his recent state visit to Kenya, and meeting litter pickers on a beach in Mombasa.

The King said: ‘To care for this creation is a responsibility owned by people of all faiths and of none. We care for the Earth for the sake of our children’s children.’

The broadcast, produced this year by ITN, began with military musicians from the Household Division Symphonic Brass playing the National Anthem from a balcony overlooking Buckingham Palace’s quadrangle, and ended with the Bexley Music Primary Choir performing the carol While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks.

The Princess of Wales was seen meeting people as she held royal engagements this year

The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh featured in the montage, meeting and laughing with crowds

Prince George helped with wood construction whilst volunteering after the coronation

Prince George and Prince Louis were also seen mucking in to help create a path

Footage was also shown of seated coronation guests during King Charles’ speech

Highlights from the royal year were screened showing the King and Queen, Princess Royal and Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh attending events.

William and Kate and their family were pictured arriving for the princess’s Westminster Abbey carol concert, and the footage ended with Charles’s final coronation day appearance on the palace balcony.

This speech was also woven with references to his coronation in May, from the location it was filmed in – the Centre Room at Buckingham Palace, overlooking the balcony from which he and Queen Camilla greeted to the crowds in The Mall – to the National Anthem, performed by British Army Musicians from the Households Division of the Symphonic Brass.

They not only performed at the coronation but also the King’s first official Birthday Parade in June and his Coronation Concert at Windsor.

Several clips of footage from the Coronation weekend’s events featured heavily showing himself and his wife and the Prince and Princess of Wales and their three children.

The speech did not mention or picture Prince Harry, Meghan Markle and their tow children, Prince Louis and Princess Lilibet.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex Harry and Meghan are again spending their fourth Christmas in California – after another tumultuous year failed to heal their rift with Charles. King Charles has only met his youngest granddaughter, Princess Lilibet, once.

Harry and Meghan were reported to have been ‘open’ to being invited to Sandringham this year. But any suggestion this would happen was quickly scotched by royal sources.

Earlier, hundreds of royal fans turned out to see the King at Sandringham earlier where he and Camilla were joined by the Prince and Princess of Wales along with their children Louis, George and Charlotte, the Tindalls and their children, Princess Anne, Princess Edward and Sophie.

The King, Queen Camilla and the Princess Royal Anne were all featured in the speech montage

The Prince and Princess of Wales attend church with their children, Princess Charlotte, Prince George, who holds the hand of Mia Tindall

Kate and Charlotte smile at the crowds gathered to see the royal family this Christmas

The Princess Royal arrives at the church for this morning’s service at Sandringham

Prince William was on hand to help Louis greet the well-wishers who had waited hours for a glimpse of the royals 

George, Mia and Charlotte were seen exchanging a joke at the corner of the meet and greet 

Prince Andrew was joined for the service by Sarah Ferguson for the first time in more than thirty years.

Sandringham House has been the private home of four generations of British monarchs for more than 160 years, and now belongs to the King.

King Charles was seen waving at the crowds who had gathered outside the Norfolk church to wish him and his family well this Christmas, walking alongside Queen Camilla.

The Princess of Wales smiled broadly as she walked to the church wearing an elegant blue coat and matching hat, holding her daughter Princess Charlotte’s hand. 

Her younger brother Prince Louis joined the rest of his family, and held his second-cousin’s Mia Tindall’s hand as they prepared to attend the service.

He grinned cheekily at the crowds and shared a joke with Mia, nine, who wore a long purple coat.

Their appearance side-by-side, with the rest of her family following behind, suggests a burgeoning friendship between the pair.

Zara and Mike Tindall held the hands of their other daughter Lena, while their youngest child Lucas, two, stayed at home. 

The mother-of-three wore a long green coat, complete with a bespoke gold headband by Juliette Botterill.

On his other side, Prince William also held his son’s hand while Prince George dressed in a navy blue suit, walked alongside his sister.