The Queen’s Christmas Day Speech was a feature of many families’ festive celebrations, fine company for peeling potatoes or sitting down to eat them. And while Queen Elizabeth always knew exactly what to say to reflect the mood of the nation, the tradition didn't end when she passed away.
Last Christmas, the first King's Christmas Day Speech in 70 years was broadcast from the Chapel of St George in Windsor Castle. King Charles III said, 'Christmas is a particularly poignant time for all of us who have lost loved ones. We feel their absence at every familiar turn of the season and remember them in each cherished tradition.'
This year he is likely to discuss issues which have affected the UK over the past 12 months and to look ahead to 2024. The King’s Speech will be broadcast on BBC One and BBC Two at 3pm.
While we have been used to the Queen's Christmas Day Speech for many years, the first Christmas speech was delivered by The Queen’s grandfather, King George V, in 1932. Written by famous author Rudyard Kipling, it was broadcast over wireless radio, with the King noting the technology would ‘bring immense possibility to make [the union of the Commonwealth] stronger still.’
Since 1957, the Christmas speech has been broadcast every year on television by the BBC, with one exception: in 1969, it was decided not to air it because the family had made a documentary film – aptly titled ‘The Royal Family’ – earlier in the year. The Queen decided to release written well-wishes instead, saying ‘I want you all to know that my good wishes are no less warm and personal because they come to you in a different form.’
In 2021, the Queen gave her last Christmas Day Address and spoke about celebrating without her husband Phillip – who had died the previous April – for the first time.
‘For me, in the months since the death of my beloved Philip, I have drawn great comfort from the warmth and affection of the many tributes to his life and work – from around the country, the Commonwealth and the world,’ she said. ‘His sense of service, intellectual curiosity and capacity to squeeze fun out of any situation – were all irrepressible. That mischievous, enquiring twinkle was as bright at the end as when I first set eyes on him.
‘But life, of course, consists of final partings as well as first meetings; and as much as I and my family miss him, I know he would want us to enjoy Christmas.’
The King’s Speech will be broadcast on BBC One and BBC Two at 3pm.