Queen Elizabeth made her annual Christmas broadcast on Friday from Windsor Castle, where she and Prince Phillip have spent most of the year. This year’s address came with an extra layer of poignancy due to the loss of life and social upheaval caused by COVID-19. A memorable passage about those “missing friends and family members distanced for safety, when all they’d really want for Christmas is a simple hug or a squeeze of the hand,” was a particularly touching moment.
This was the Queen’s 69th consecutive address, a tradition that began with her grandfather, King George V. (The first Royal Christmas Message, delivered via radio in 1932, was authored by Rudyard Kipling.) The current British monarch had proved herself adaptable to new technologies, and the video that accompanies the speech shows her communicating, as so many have during this pandemic year, via Zoom. Friday’s video marked the third time she addressed her subjects (and the world) this year, first in the early days of lockdown, then on the anniversary of V-E Day.
“People around the world value her leadership qualities more than ever,” author Sally Bedell Smith told V.F. prior to the speech itself, adding “they’ll be eager to hear her message, knowing especially that it comes from the heart.”
Elizabeth, whose titles include Supreme Governor of the Church of England, spoke how the teachings of Christ have served as her inner light, and also referred to the parable of the Good Samaritan. She also included references to other religious holidays like Passover, Diwali, Eid, and Vaisakhi, all of which were hampered by the need for social distancing this year.
Nurses and other frontline services got a well-deserved regal shout-out, and the video concludes with a National Health Services choir singing “Joy To The World” using distancing guidelines. An estimated 6.3 million people watched the broadcast live on the BBC.
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