Royal families love their Christmas traditions. They give gifts with jokes and attend lavish buffet dinners. But while royal watchers are accustomed to seeing the monarch deliver his Christmas speech from Buckingham Palace or Windsor Castle, this year, for the first time, Prince Charles is departing from the norm.

Buckingham Palace announced on Monday, December 23, that the King's Christmas speech will not be recorded at the Royal Palace, but that His Majesty the King has instead chosen to record his message from London's Fitzrovia Chapel. According to the Palace, this is the first time since 2006 that no royal Christmas message was recorded at either Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle, or Sandringham House.

The King's decision to deliver his annual message from the chapel is poignant for many reasons. This is because the church had previously served as the chapel for the Middlesex Hospital, which was destroyed in 1924. The new hospital was opened in 1935 by King Charles' grandfather, King George VI.

However, there is also a deeper significance to the fact that Her Majesty was diagnosed with cancer earlier this year and will be giving a speech in the hospital chapel.

The Fitzrovia Chapel has been described by the palace as a “jewel of Byzantine architecture,” and in a photograph released prior to the broadcast, the king stands before an ornate gilt ceiling covered with 555 stars. According to Buckingham Palace, the Christmas tree Prince Charles stood in front of was decorated with “sustainable ornaments, including pine cones, metal bells, twisted glass, and glass baubles.”

On another note, in honor of his battle with cancer, the tree was donated to the Croydon BME Forum and Macmillan Cancer Support's “Can You C Me?” project and went to the Royal Trinity Hospice, of which Queen Camilla has been a patron since 2006.

As is tradition, the Royal Family gathers at Sandringham House to watch the speech when it is broadcast on television. This year, more than 45 family members will head to Sandringham for Christmas, including Princess Beatrice's family, which was added at the last minute after doctors advised the pregnant Princess Beatrice not to travel abroad to visit her in-laws.

The King's Christmas speech will be broadcast in the UK at 3 p.m. EDT (10 a.m. EST) on Christmas Day and posted on the Royal Family YouTube channel.