el Rey) is the annual broadcast by the Spanish monarch on Christmas Eve.
The speech is aired on all Spanish TV channels.
[1] The message typically combines a chronicle of that year's major events, with specific focus on politics, economy, culture and social affairs, and also the sovereign's own personal feelings on Christmas.
During his reign, King Juan Carlos I usually covered the main problems of the nation, such as ETA.
In 2004, the speech was highly related to the Madrid train bombings earlier that year; in 2006 the King discussed the need to become a united nation against terrorism (in implicit support of Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero's anti-terrorist policies) and he mentioned the increasing force of immigrants in Spain and appreciated their contribution to the economy.