King Charles' 2024 Christmas Message Will Focus on Healthcare Workers: 'A Pretty Apt Choice'

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After a year that saw both King Charles and Kate Middleton diagnosed with cancer, "Obviously it made sense it had some form of health connection," a source said

After a difficult year that saw both King Charles and Kate Middleton receive cancer diagnoses, the King has chosen to focus his annual Christmas message on healthcare workers.

The King, 76, was diagnosed with cancer following a procedure to treat a benign enlarged prostate in January. He publicly announced his cancer diagnosis on Feb. 5, and his treatment continues and will continue on into 2025.

Related: King Charles' Cancer Treatment Will Continue into the New Year, Is in a 'Very Positive Direction,' Palace Source Confirms

The Princess of Wales, 42, also had a procedure — hers an abdominal surgery — in January, and in the aftermath of that operation, cancer was detected. She publicly announced her diagnosis on March 22, and on Sept. 9 revealed that she had completed her chemotherapy treatment.

In addition to a focus on healthcare workers, The Guardian reported that Charles will use his yearly Christmas broadcast — which airs at 3 p.m. U.K. time every year — to hail communities that banded together in solidarity in the aftermath of rioting following the fatal stabbing of three young girls at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport, England in July.

"It is understood the speech will reflect on international, national and personal challenges and how they can be overcome by communities supporting one another," The Guardian reported.

The message was symbolically filmed at Fitzrovia Chapel, located in the demolished Middlesex hospital where Princess Diana once opened London's first dedicated AIDS ward. (The hospital closed in 2006 and was demolished two years later in 2008.) It marked the first time the Christmas speech was filmed away from a royal residence in 18 years.

Related: King Charles Filmed Christmas Speech in Former Hospital Chapel, a Surprise Move After 'Brutal' Year

"I assume that this space being one of calm reflection, but also thinking about health, about care, about the medical profession, would make it a pretty apt choice," said Carla Whalen, the chair of the Fitzrovia Chapel Foundation's board of trustees.

According to The Guardian, Charles intentionally tasked the team organizing his Christmas broadcast to find a site away from royal residences, giving them a list of criteria the building must fulfill, "including having health connections, a strong community presence and providing all faiths a place of solace and reflection."

The King chose Fitzrovia Chapel — located in central London and featuring Byzantine-inspired architecture — without visiting it in person and was left "absolutely bowled over" by its beauty, a source told The Guardian. The chapel is "richly decorated in a Gothic revival style featuring marble and more than 500 stars in a gold leaf ceiling," the outlet reported.

"He was pretty surprised and kind of delighted, as far as I can tell, from coming in and discovering it," Whalen said. "He was very interested in the marble. There's 40 types of marble here and lots of different designs, and he wanted to learn about the history of the chapel and some of the people who are commemorated here."

The King recorded the address on Dec. 11 alongside a Christmas tree covered with sustainable decorations that was donated to Croydon BME (Black and Minority Ethnic) Forum and Macmillan Cancer Support's Can You C Me? project, which strives to address ethnic inequalities in cancer care. It will be placed in the Royal Trinity Hospice in Clapham, which Queen Camilla serves as its patron.

"Obviously it made sense it had some form of health connection, because that, of course, has been a dominant theme for the family in all kinds of different ways," a source told The Guardian. "Secondly and equally importantly, that it should speak in some way of bringing communities together … Thirdly, of course, it does help if it looks rather beautiful and is a place of spiritual solace and reflection."

The Middlesex Hospital was opened by King Charles' grandfather King George VI in 1935, when he was still Duke of York and one year before he became King following his older brother's abdication the next year. 

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This year, The King's Christmas Broadcast was filmed in the Fitzrovia Chapel, London.

Formerly the chapel of Middlesex Hospital, it is now a space for quiet reflection, discovery and celebration, connecting diverse communities from all faiths or none.

In 1928, His Majesty's… pic.twitter.com/fLqyDJ4zn4

— The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) December 23, 2024

This Christmas broadcast is the King's third following his taking the throne on Sept. 8, 2022, following the death of his mother Queen Elizabeth. His 2022 message was filmed at St. George's Chapel on the Windsor Castle estate, and his 2023 message was filmed at Buckingham Palace. The Christmas message was first broadcast in 1932 by King George V, and Queen Elizabeth took the broadcast to television for the first time in 1957. The broadcasts have been recorded in advance since 1960 and are a cherished point of connection between the sovereign and the public, a chance to annually reflect on current events, the landscape of the world and, of course, the meaning of Christmas.

Step inside the royals' holiday traditions with PEOPLE's Special Edition: Christmas at the Palace: A Royal Family Album.