A timeless message of hope

King's call to 'cherish values of compassion and reconciliation'

- BY RUSSELL MYERS and JENNIFER NEWTON

KING Charles looked to the future in his Christmas speech to the nation, praising the common values that unite us.

He paid tribute to the courage and sacrifice of our war veterans and said he had been inspired this year by community heroes he had met on his travels around the world.

Amid religious tension at home and abroad, with war ravaging the Middle East and terror attacks against Jewish communities, Charles made special mention of the “great diversity of our communities”, which can help us to “ensure that right triumphs over wrong”.

He said: “As I meet people of different faiths, I find it enormously encouraging to hear how much we have in common; a shared longing for peace and a deep respect for all life.

“If we can find time in our journey through life to think on these virtues, we can all make the future more hopeful.”

This year, the Princess of Wales entered remission from cancer and the King this month announced his own treatment for the disease will be reduced in the new year.

But the firm continues to be blighted by the scandal surrounding Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor. He was pictured alone yesterday, driving out of his Royal Lodge home in Windsor.