The queen’s Christmas speech is an annual occurrence which is a long-held tradition. It began back in 1932 by then-reigning King George V. This tradition is an important event in the royal calendar which sees the reigning monarch addressing the nation and summing up the entire year before the arrival of the new year. It also is one of those few moments when the royalty directly addresses the public.
Each year her Majesty addresses the UK, commonwealth, and everyone around the world to wish Merry Christmas. For royal fans, it doesn’t feel like Christmas unless they have heard the Christmas wishes from the Monarch.
What time is the speech?
As the tradition goes, like every year her majesty will deliver her speech at the same time i.e. 3:00 PM on Christmas Day, December 25th.
Her speech covers all the commonwealth countries summing up the major events of the last 12 months and usually lasts for 10 minutes. And unlike the Queen’s predecessors, she writes her Christmas address herself without the involvement of the scriptwriters and chooses a theme for her speech. She sits with the advisers beforehand to reflect upon the year gone by. Along with national events, the Queen also mentions major milestones in the royal family.
Picture: PA | File Pic
Queen Elizabeth II had made her first speech in 1952 on the radio followed by a televised version in 1957.
Where can you watch?
The annual speech from her highness Elizabeth II will broadcast on BBC One, ITV, Sky One, and Sky News. It will also be available on Radio 4. The Christmas message is also available live on the Royals’ YouTube Channel, Facebook and available for download as Podcast. It can also be streamed online via iPlayer.
The Christmas message from the Queen is now pre-recorded a few days before Christmas and doesn’t air live anymore as it used till a few years back. More than 6 million people watched the speech in 2018.