King backs digital detox to end gadgets’ reign of tyranny
Friday, 26 December 2025
Britain
King Charles suggested that we could all benefit from a digital detox to “allow our souls to renew” as he delivered the fourth Christmas message of his reign.
Charles also spoke of the values “treasured by all great faiths”, praising “resilience in the face of adversity; peace through forgiveness; simply getting to know our neighbours and, by showing respect to one another, creating new friendships”.
In what is understood to be a call for people across Britain and the Commonwealth to step back from the distractions of the digital age, the King said: “As our world seems to spin ever faster, our journeying may pause, to quieten our minds - in TS Eliot's words, ‘At the still point of the turning world’ - and allow our souls to renew.”
An aide of the King said: “He has in mind the effect that new technologies can have on society, and how they can impact both on community cohesion and on general wellbeing, especially for younger people.
“I think His Majesty hopes that … Christmas might afford a moment when people could experiment with something of a ‘digital detox’ to focus more on our friendships, our families and our faith for those who practice. In this way the King hopes our minds may find greater peace, our souls can renew, and our communities grow stronger.”
Consciously avoiding any direct reference to concerns within his own family this year, it is understood that Charles wanted the speech to look outward rather than inward. He touched upon the universal themes of good and evil, while referencing “division, both at home and abroad” and the need to reconnect at Christmas. “With the great diversity of our communities, we can find the strength to ensure that right triumphs over wrong,” he said.
Viewers watching on television saw the King's message interspersed with footage of this year’s 80th anniversary commemorations for VE Day and VJ Day. Charles said that it was “impossible not to be deeply moved by the ages of the fallen, as the gravestones in our war cemeteries remind us. The young people who fought and helped save us from defeat in both world wars were often only 18, 19, or 20 years of age.”
Charles also alluded to wars still being waged. The choir for this year’s message was the Songs for Ukraine chorus, with solos from the sopranos Arina Koroletska, who is studying at the Odesa National Music Academy, and Olha Terletska, a professional opera singer who moved to Britain in 2022 after the invasion. They performed the Carol of the Bells, which is based on a song by Mykola Leontovych, a Ukrainian composer.
This year’s message was recorded in the lady chapel at Westminster Abbey, long seen as a site of pilgrimage as the resting place of Edward the Confessor, the only English king to have been canonised by the Catholic Church.
Charles spoke of his recent state visit to the Vatican, where he prayed with the Pope in a “historic moment of spiritual unity” in which they celebrated the theme of the Roman Catholic jubilee year: pilgrims of hope. Charles, 77, said: “Pilgrimage is a word less used today, but it has particular significance for our modern world, and especially at Christmas. It is about journeying forward, into the future, while also journeying back to remember the past and learn from its lessons.”