At 3pm on Christmas Day, just as she had the year before and almost every year since 1957, the Queen gave her televisedChristmas speech and millions gathered on sofas to watch. The Queen uses the Christmas Day speech to reflect on the year that has gone past – 2018 seemed to be an especially busy one for the royal family. She also uses the speech as an opportunity to convey a message to the nation and those watching around the world. It was, before it broadcast, rumoured to be a little bit more political than usual. She did make references to the current climate of division in the wake of Brexit, saying “Even with the most deeply held differences, treating the other person with respect and as a fellow human being is always a good first step towards greater understanding.” There was nothing particularly controversial about that. However, a particularly lavish piece of furniture in the background made it hard for some to take the 92-year-old monarch’s message to heart.
Viewers took to Twitter to express how they felt about the Queen discussing poverty and bridging gaps while a gold piano sparkled in the background. For some, the grand piano – first purchased in 1856 by Queen Victoria – symbolises the division between rich and poor in the U.K and found it hard to hear the Queen’s message from those opulent surroundings at a time when the use of food banks is at an all-time high, and the number of rough sleeps has doubled in five years while renovations worth £369m were announced for Buckingham Palace as well as a 16% pay raise for the Queen.
Rachael Swindon said, “I tried watching the Queens [sic] address. Then I saw a gold piano and switched it off. 2 minutes before I was reading an article about the Dickensian levels of child poverty in Britain.
@joshwlkr said, “I love getting yelled at by an old publicy-funded [sic] billionaire with a gold piano that we should all be happier and less angry.”
Others took the humorous approach. Twitter user Huw joked “This year has seen the rue effects of austerity hitting families across the country, with homelessness and poverty rising at an alarming rate, I, myself, am down to my last gold piano.
Others saw the piano as part and parcel of the monarch’s position. Stephen Robinson tweeted “She’s the Queen. You want her in Santa pajamas, drinking cocoa?”