The King will deliver the second Christmas message of his reign from a Buckingham Palace room decorated with a living Christmas tree.
It is the first time a living tree has been used as part of the backdrop for the 75-year-old monarch’s annual festive address to the UK and Commonwealth.
The King is a long-term environmental campaigner who delivered a speech at the recent Cop28 UN Climate Change summit, and the tree will be replanted after the broadcast.
Charles, like his late mother Queen Elizabeth, writes his Christmas broadcasts and has followed her well-established template of a personal reflection on the year, touching on current issues and with a Christian theme.
Last year he used his first Christmas broadcast to praise the “wonderfully kind people” who have supported those struggling with the cost-of-living crisis.
From the branches of the tree hang natural and sustainable decorations including hand-turned wood, dried oranges, glass baubles, pine cones and paper.
Charles' message, due to be broadcast at 3pm on Christmas Day, is again delivered standing, and this year's location is the Buckingham Palace room that leads on to the royal residence's iconic balcony.
Members of the royal family have gathered in the Centre Room ahead of historic balcony appearances including following Charles' coronation and for Trooping the Colour celebrations.
In the background can be seen the Queen Victoria Memorial, which was planned by King Edward VII as a tribute to his mother and her reign and was unveiled in 1911, a year after his death, by his son, King George V.
Resting on a table to the King's right is a potpourri bowl with gilt metal cover believed to have been acquired by George IV.
The circular tazza-shaped bowl of Japanese lacquered wood with gilt bronze mounts is held by the Royal Collection Trust.
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Key changes
Commission caps
For life insurance products with a savings component, Peter Hodgins of Clyde & Co said different caps apply to the saving and protection elements:
• For the saving component, a cap of 4.5 per cent of the annualised premium per year (which may not exceed 90 per cent of the annualised premium over the policy term).
• On the protection component, there is a cap of 10 per cent of the annualised premium per year (which may not exceed 160 per cent of the annualised premium over the policy term).
• Indemnity commission, the amount of commission that can be advanced to a product salesperson, can be 50 per cent of the annualised premium for the first year or 50 per cent of the total commissions on the policy calculated.
• The remaining commission after deduction of the indemnity commission is paid equally over the premium payment term.
• For pure protection products, which only offer a life insurance component, the maximum commission will be 10 per cent of the annualised premium multiplied by the length of the policy in years.
Disclosure
Customers must now be provided with a full illustration of the product they are buying to ensure they understand the potential returns on savings products as well as the effects of any charges. There is also a “free-look” period of 30 days, where insurers must provide a full refund if the buyer wishes to cancel the policy.
“The illustration should provide for at least two scenarios to illustrate the performance of the product,” said Mr Hodgins. “All illustrations are required to be signed by the customer.”
Another illustration must outline surrender charges to ensure they understand the costs of exiting a fixed-term product early.
Illustrations must also be kept updatedand insurers must provide information on the top five investment funds available annually, including at least five years' performance data.
“This may be segregated based on the risk appetite of the customer (in which case, the top five funds for each segment must be provided),” said Mr Hodgins.
Product providers must also disclose the ratio of protection benefit to savings benefits. If a protection benefit ratio is less than 10 per cent "the product must carry a warning stating that it has limited or no protection benefit" Mr Hodgins added.
