Watching the King’s Christmas Day broadcast is a traditional part of many people’s festive celebrations and even some of the wider Royal Family settle in front of the TV at Sandringham House to hear what he has to say. Although Queen Elizabeth used to deliver some of her messages live, she switched to pre-recording them from 1959 and King Charles does this too.
He will have written and filmed his 2025 speech ready and he always reflects upon the year, remarking upon issues that concern everyone and what Christmas truly means. The King’s speech is pre-recorded because it makes it easier to distribute to broadcasters in advance, so fans across the world can tune in on Christmas Day.
Here’s how to watch King Charles’s Christmas speech where you are - whether you’re spending the festive period at home or abroad.
How to watch the King’s Christmas speech in the UK
If you’re going to be in the UK on Christmas Day then watching King Charles’s Christmas speech couldn’t be easier and you have multiple broadcasters to choose from. Head to BBC One, BBC Two, BBC News or ITV1 at 3pm GMT to hear his 10-minute-long festive message.
You can also watch via Sky News on their website or on Freeview Channel 233 or Freesat Channel 202, or alternatively, listen on Radio 4. If that wasn’t enough options for you, the King’s Christmas Day speech will also be available afterwards on the Royal Family’s YouTube channel.
Anyone who wants to catch up on the broadcast can also do so on platforms such as BBC iPlayer or ITVX. The message will be shown again at 9:20pm on BBC News if you’d prefer to watch it later on Christmas Day. Until the new speech lands, you can also re-watch previous Christmas messages on YouTube.
How to watch the King’s Christmas speech from anywhere in the world
Many Commonwealth countries broadcast the Sovereign’s Christmas broadcast on Christmas Day too. You can tune in to ABC at 3:20pm AEDT to view it in Australia, to TVZN1 at 6:06pm NZDT in New Zealand and to CBC at 12pm ET in Canada. In the US it is available through C-Span, though at various times, so it’s worth checking your local listings so as not to miss out.
If you’re going to be away from your usual TV set-up when King Charles’s Christmas message airs you can still enjoy it with the use of a Virtual Private Network - a VPN. A VPN allows you to change your IP address to that of the area of what you want to watch, meaning you can tune in to your favourite shows and broadcasts like King’s 2025 festive speech.
Our sister site, TechRadar, has tested all of the major VPN services and they rate Nord as the absolute best. They say, "It’s compatible with all of your devices, supports most streaming services, and ranks among the fastest. You can even install it on devices like an Amazon Fire TV Stick, Apple TV, Xbox, and PlayStation. So for a one-stop-shop, you can’t go wrong with Express."
If you've never installed a VPN before, don't worry, it's quick and easy. Just follow these three steps:
- Download and install the VPN following NordVPN's easy-to-follow instructions.
- Once you've installed your VPN, open the app and select your server location as anywhere in the UK.
- With your VPN installed and server location set to UK, you can now watch King Charles's 2025 Christmas speech online via BBC iPlayer and ITVX.
Since he ascended the throne in all three of King Charles's Christmas speeches so far have been recorded at a different location - St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle in 2022, Buckingham Palace in 2023 and Fitzrovia Chapel in 2024. Fitzrovia Chapel was once the chapel for Middlesex Hospital and it's understood that His Majesty wanted to to choose a place with a connection to those working in healthcare.
The 2025 Christmas speech will be broadcast just a few weeks after King Charles shared his powerful message as part of Channel 4's Stand Up To Cancer campaign, in which he gave an update on his health and declared that early diagnosis "quite simply saves lives".
