Those Britons who, like Miss Sophie in "Dinner before One", wish things to stay the same, had to accept a break this time.

For the first time in seventy years, a king addressed them.

Most of them cannot remember a time when the Queen did not speak to them and the citizens of the Commonwealth, first on radio and since 1957 on screens.

For everyone, it was a king's Christmas debut on television.

George V and George VI, with whom the tradition began ninety years ago, used to speak into the microphone at a plain table in a chamber under the stairs of their Sandringham country house.

Gina Thomas

Features correspondent based in London.

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It took BBC director-general John Reith almost a decade to persuade George V to give the address.

Reith recognized from the outset that the inclusion of the monarch in the new channel would allow the king to communicate directly with his people and thus enhance the BBC's function as the nation's bridge.

For decades, families dropped everything at 3 p.m. on Christmas Day and listened to or watched the speech together.

The internet has made time binding obsolete.

Everyone can now consume the show in their own way.

Nevertheless, national importance is still attached to the ritual, such as the attention paid to the first appearance of Charles III, which was admittedly taken as a sign of his concept of his own task.

occupied in this role.

At first, the broadcasts were still live.

George V complained that the tension was ruining his Christmas.

The first time, in 1932, he fell into the chair with such force that the seat broke.

A heavy cloth was draped across the table to absorb the nervous crackle of the manuscript in the stage-frightened monarch's hands.

He can be heard clearing his throat a few times as he recites the 251-word text written by Rudyard Kipling, often referred to as the poet of the Empire.

Signaled closeness to mother

George V was then 67 years old, seven years younger than his great-grandson Charles III.

And yet the "sailor king", as he was called because of his connection to the Navy, seemed much older, not least because of his deep, robust voice.

Which earned him the nickname “Grandpa England”, which is what his favorite granddaughter Lilibet used to call him.

When it was her turn, Elizabeth II wanted to do the same as her father and grandfather, in the spirit of Miss Sophie.

The young monarch kept tradition intact by sitting in the same chair at the same table at Sandringham.

Her son, on the other hand, subtly combined tradition with change just by speaking standing up.

To signal closeness to his mother, the King positioned himself in St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle, not far from where Elizabeth II's coffin was lowered into the crypt three months ago.

Behind him are the twinkling lights of the Christmas tree, decorated with sustainable ornaments, as befits an environmentally concerned monarch.

Light was also a leitmotif of the speech.

Starting with the line of the Christmas carol "O you little town of Bethlehem", which sings of the eternal light that shines in the dark street, Charles III spoke.

about the belief in God and people, which he shares with his mother "whole heart", but also about the power of light that overcomes all limits of faith,

It has often been said in the past that Charles wished to reflect the shift towards a multicultural, predominantly secular society by changing the title adopted by Henry VIII from Defender of the Faith to Defender of Faith.

In the oath he took after the death of his mother, he did not touch tradition.

And it looks as if this will also be the case with the coronation oath.

Speaking as a Christian to a nation where, according to the most recent poll, a majority no longer profess Christianity and 37 percent even say they are non-believers, the King drew people of all faiths, non-believers and the Commonwealth into his message of solidarity and the commonwealth service to the community.

In the case of Elizabeth II, the appearance was staged like an old master portrait in which the attributes – in her case mostly family photos – conveyed messages or were interpreted as such.

Charles III

instead chose the non-specific to make a clear, general statement that skilfully sidestepped any hint of family strife.

Only the recordings of the "working royals" at the end confirmed that the Sussexes are no longer part of the party.