Commander-in-Chief King Charles thanks all personnel serving over the Christmas period
King Charles, the Armed Forces' Commander-in-Chief, has delivered his annual Christmas speech, thanking personnel for their service.
He said: "At a time of increasingly tragic conflict around the world, I pray that we can also do all in our power to protect each other.
"The words of Jesus seem more than ever relevant: ‘Do to others as you would have them do to you'."
The King added: "Such values are universal, drawing together our Abrahamic family of religions and other belief systems across the Commonwealth and wider world.
"They remind us to imagine ourselves in the shoes of our neighbours and to seek their good as we would our own.
"So, on this Christmas Day, my heart and my thanks go to all who are serving one another, all who are caring for our common home and all who see and seek the good of others, not least the friend we do not yet know."
King Charles III had earlier written a letter to personnel from the Royal Artillery who are deployed this Christmas period or unable to be with their family and friends.
As the regiment's Captain General, a role he succeeds from his mother, the King said he knew this was a "particularly difficult time to be separated from the ones you love".
He said their "sacrifice to our nation deserves enormous admiration and gratitude".
The letter, which was shared by the Royal Artillery on social media, was signed by the King himself.
He wished those on operations a "safe" deployment, which he underlined in ink.
Military personnel each year sacrifice a festive period spent with loved ones to keep the UK safe, with his year no different.
Almost 7,000 are spending Christmas deployed overseas, with work spread across 40 operations in 30 countries.
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