King Charles Christmas Speech Included Footage From Controversial Visits

King Charles included in his first Christmas broadcast footage from two visits that provoked some awkward moments for him and Queen Consort Camilla.

The monarch delivered his first festive address since the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth, in September, and it had a different feel compared with his mother's speeches.

The king chose to deliver his message standing up at St. George's Chapel, not from behind a desk, which prevented the annual debate over whose photos would be displayed. Royal watchers were waiting to see whether any sort of olive branch would be extended to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.

However, one less commented-on feature of the broadcast was that it included footage from two recent events that caused some royal awkwardness.

The first was a visit to York in November, during which eggs were reportedly thrown at Charles. Patrick Thelwell, 23, was charged with threatening behavior and has a magistrates' court appearance set for January.

Nick Price, head of the Crown Prosecution Service's Special Crime and Counter Terrorism Division, said the charges followed "an investigation by police into an incident in which eggs were thrown at HM The King in York on November 9, 2022."

The Christmas broadcast did not show any eggs being thrown, but the footage was taken from Charles' walkabout when the incident took place.

Moments later, Camilla is seen meeting children during a visit to Barnardo's Nursery in London on November 24. The visit prompted a Twitter backlash after the queen consort awkwardly lifted a girl's arm by her sleeve, a moment not included in Charles' broadcast.

Nadine White, race correspondent for The Independent, wrote on Twitter at the time: "Camilla, Queen Consort, has sparked fresh royal racism outcry after being filmed picking up a Black child's arm by her sleeve, not wrist, while donating toys to children at a London charity on Thurs. Hashtag #RacistRoyalFamily has been trending since."

The inclusion of the two segments suggests the king did not feel these visits had been tarnished by any awkwardness surrounding them.

In his speech, he paid tribute to emergency services and health professionals at a time when nurses and ambulance crews have been on strike while demanding better pay and conditions from the British government. The king also addressed the cost of living crisis.

He did not mention Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, whose recent Netflix docuseries has provoked controversy. Harry & Meghan, which dropped in two parts in December, leveled new allegations at the monarchy, including that Charles spoke some untruths during negotiations over the terms of the couple's royal exit in January 2020.

Harry told the documentary: "It was terrifying. To have my brother scream and shout at me and my father say things that just simply weren't true and my grandmother, you know, quietly sit there and sort of take it all in."