emphasising the message, emphasising the importance of community, compassion and service amid a turbulent year for both he and the princess of wales, who had their own health battles. in a break from tradition, king charles delivered this year's christmas speech from the fitzrovia chapel, a former hospital in central london. it's the first time in over a decade it hasn't been recorded at a royal residence, with the king choosing to praise the community response to the anger and lawlessness of this summer's riots in towns and cities around the uk, and also to the selfless doctors and nurses who provided strength, care and comfort to both him and the princess of wales during their cancer treatments. >> from a personal point of view, i offer special, heartfelt thanks to the selfless doctors and nurses who this year have supported me and other members of my family through the uncertainties and anxieties of illness , and have helped provide illness, and have helped provide the strength, care and comfort

we have needed. i am deeply grateful too, to all those who have offered us their own kind words of sympathy and encouragement. >> this morning, the king attended the royal family's traditional christmas day church service. the king and queen camilla walked the short distance from sandringham house to saint mary magdalene church, past a crowd of well—wishers. they were joined by the prince and princess of wales and their children, the princess royal and the duke and duchess of edinburgh. also part of that walking party, absent, though, was the duke of york, who's been accused of having links to an alleged chinese spy. the archbishop of york emerged smiling from his christmas day service in the north yorkshire city to greet well—wishers and tourists outside the minster. the archbishop of york, who will effectively take over as leader of the church of england next month, has called for change. in his christmas sermon, stephen cottrell delivered his remarks

as the church faces criticism over failures in its handling of various abuse scandals. archbishop of canterbury justin welby resigned last month after he was criticised for not doing enough to stop a prolific abusen enough to stop a prolific abuser. earlier this week, mr cottrell acknowledged that things could have been handled differently after revelations that a priest at the centre of a sexual abuse case was twice reappointed under him while he was serving as bishop of chelmsford. gb news can confirm that at least 350 migrants have crossed the english channel in small boats so far this christmas day. several boats were seen making the dangerous journey from france this morning, with more expected to follow over the course of today. those who arrived in dover following early hours crossings broke a period of more than a week when no small boats had been spotted. and this comes after gb news exclusively revealed yesterday that thousands of migrants were massing along the northern coast of france, preparing to cross to the uk over the christmas

period. elsewhere, a man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after a car was dnven attempted murder after a car was driven onto the pavement in central london in the early hours of christmas day. four people were taken to hospital after the incident on shaftesbury avenue, with one said to be in a life threatening condition. metropolitan police officers were called to reports officers were called to reports of a crash and car driving on the wrong side of the road at 12:45 am. in a statement, police said the incident was isolated and not terror related. a knife wielding man was shot dead after an hours long standoff with armed police on christmas eve. west mercia police said officers were called by west midlands ambulance service to an address in redditch, in worcestershire, at around 2:00 yesterday afternoon , around 2:00 yesterday afternoon, after concerns were raised for the safety of a man with a knife. the safety of a man with a ane.the the safety of a man with a knife. the force said attempts were made over several hours to deal with the incident, but the man was shot just after 7:30 pm. and swimmers across the

nafion pm. and swimmers across the nation have braved the chilly waters as they celebrated christmas day with a festive plunge. many of those swimmers turned out in support of various charity causes, with others simply enjoying a festive tradition. sea surface temperatures across the country were between 8 and 11 c, according to the met office, but plucky bathers, including many dressed as father christmas snowmen and elves, woke up extra early to take the plunge in bournemouth. if you're watching these pictures on television, these pictures on television, the enduring peter pan cop was also strongly attended in london's hyde park, with swimmers taking part in the world's oldest annual swimming event. and those are the latest gb news headlines. for now i'm tatiana sanchez. more from me in an hour for the very latest gb news direct to your smartphone, sign up to news alerts by scanning the qr code or go to

gbnews.com/alerts. >> a very merry christmas to you all. i'm cameron walker, gb news royal correspondent. if you were to ask me in march or april time when royal health battles were rife, if any members of the family would be able to travel this year, i would have said very unlikely. but despite the odds, the king was determined and so was the prince of wales. even harry and meghan carried out a couple of their own separate tours, although that certainly raised some eyebrows. so welcome to a royal year. the royal tours coming up, we'll be looking back on the king and queen's tour of australia with a member of the australian monarchist league, who had a very special task during the visit. >> what happens over the next five years, especially in relation to stopping the illegal wildlife trade, is crucial for the future of life on earth. >> and as prince william takes his fight against poachers to the next level, we'll look back on gb news exclusive interview

with robert irwin, the son of the crocodile hunter. >> this seal, there's a little seal that's coming down here and is hijacking our interview. this is hijacking our interview. this is amazing. welcome to south africa. >> and as prince harry and meghan travelled to nigeria and colombia will be asking one hollywood insider, what's their end game? welcome back to a royal year the royal tours. joining me throughout today's show is someone like me who follows the king and queen to australia and samoa and prince william to cape town, and we welcome the royal editor of the sun newspaper, matt wilkinson. matt, welcome. thank you. have you recovered from your jetlag? >> oh, do you know what? it was so much worse on the way back because on the way there , you because on the way there, you were kind of. the adrenaline kept you going because you had the excitement of the jobs. but, yeah, on the way back was tough. >> and unfortunately, we couldn't go to a nice health spa in india to recover either, could we. oh i did.

>> did you not? no i didn't. oh ipopped >> did you not? no i didn't. oh i popped by one on the way back. oh you should you should give me a ring. i'll show you the best ones next time. >> you've been on kind of many royal tours covering the royal family. this year was quite different because of all the health problems we've had with the royal family. right. >> 100%. i mean, this was probably his most significant toun probably his most significant tour, definitely, since he's become king. but i think his most significant tour for about ten years, he had to go to australia. he vowed to go to australia. he vowed to go to australia. and it was incredibly important because, you know, this is our most important realm, basically. he had to go and make it a success. and i'm glad it was a success because we were worried. you know, he's he does have health problems, as you rightly said. you know, he has been suffering with cancer. he has been having treatment. so it had to be a success. and i'm so glad that it went, you know, mainly without any major kind of disasters mainly. >> and hold that thought, because we'll be talking a lot more about the king's tour to australia and some other lots of different things to expect throughout the show. but quickly, here is a look back at the king and queen and prince william's autumn travels. esther mcvey. the royal family was propelled onto the global stage

this year, representing brand britain and deploying their soft power despite their private health battles. the king and queen travelled thousands of miles to australia, the first time his majesty had visited as the country's head of state, and the country's head of state, and the first reigning king to step foot on its soil. >> welcome to australia. lovely to have you here. >> partly due to the king's cancer diagnosis, the trip lasted only six days, visiting sydney and canberra, hailed by crowds but heckled by individuals . bibby stockholm. individuals. bibby stockholm. you are not my kids. >> you are not our king. >> you are not our king. >> meanwhile, the king made a point of acknowledging the traditions and lives of indigenous communities and spent time listening indige