The Queen’s Christmas Speech: Everything You Need To Know

It's a bona fide Christmas tradition!

Queen

by grazia |
Updated on

It wouldn't be Christmas Day without The Queen's Christmas Day Message, would it? And after a year of royal controversies, it seems even more important that Her Majesty sits down to address the country and reflect on what 2019 has brought. It's a tradition reaching back decades. Here's what you need to know.

When is it on?

The Queen's Christmas Day speech airs on BBC One, ITV, Sky One and Sky News - or on Radio 4 - at 3pm (Channel 4 provides an alternative).

The afternoon scheduling was the source of controversy this year: Jeremy Corbyn claimed to watch the speech in the morning, thereby revealing that he may not watch it at all. Not that there's necessarily anything wrong with that.

What can we expect?

The Queen always looks back at the past twelve months, covering both national events and family ones. This year she's expected to talk about the fact that it's been a 'bumpy' 2019, but that 'small steps' can help heal divisions. Much has already been made of that online. Is she referring to the Brexit chat that's dominated this year, culminating, of course, in a bitter general election? Or could she be referring to the year that Prince Harry went on national TV to admit that he was on a different path to his brother, Prince William? Or the car crash that was Prince Andrew's Newsnight interview, which was supposed to shut down conversation about his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein - but saw him stepping down from public royal duties? I think we can surmise a bit of all three...

Did she really snub Harry and Meghan?

Critics noticed that there is a picture of the Cambridge family on the desk from which she gives the speech, as well as a picture of Charles with Camilla, a picture of the Queen's late father, and a picture of Prince Phillip. However there isn't a picture of any of her other children, or of her other grandchildren - something that fans of the Sussexes were quick to call out online. Still, it's most likely that in order to have a photograph of everyone, the Queen would need a very large desk.

When did it begin?

King George V, The Queen's grandfather, made the first speech in 1932. His son King George VI made his first one in 1937 - the 1936 speech was cancelled due to the abdication of Edward VIII. The Queen picked things up in 1952. But this was all via radio, and she gave the first televised Christmas message in 1957.

There has only been one break since then. In 1969, she decided to give it a miss, saying that the royal family had 'been on television enough.' She wrote a message instead.

Fair enough. It is Christmas.

READ MORE: This Is How The Queen Spends Christmas

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