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King Charles III made his first televised Christmas address to the British people Sunday, paying fulsome tribute to his late mother, and thanking the public for their messages of condolence.
The king raised eyebrows by praising emergency and health workers, many of whom are striking for higher wages, as well as praising those who donate to and run food banks, which have become an increasing feature of British life in recent years as a cost-of-living crisis has taken hold.
He devoted considerable attention in the message to people struggling to pay their bills, sympathizing with the “great anxiety and hardship” people were enduring as they worked to “keep their families fed and warm,” while footage of aid parcels being handed out at food banks played.