Location: Buckingham Palace
Produced by: BBC
Theme: The overriding message is the importance of understanding and tolerance between religions and cultures. Elizabeth II explains how her own Christian beliefs have helped her appreciate this through the parable of the Good Samaritan. The Queen's address culminates with an anecdote about a visitor to Britain travelling on the London Underground who, upon witnessing children from diverse ethnic backgrounds getting on and off at various stops during his journey, is impressed at how well they get along and how at ease they are with each other.
Commentary: Viewed only a few years after its original broadcast, the 2004 message can look surprisingly political. The Queen appears to embrace the virtues of multiculturalism and immigration with enthusiasm (although neither term is directly used), issues which were shortly to become open to widespread debate in the United Kingdom for the first time in decades. It should be pointed out, however, that the Queen here is only reflecting what had been the consensus of the political mainstream since the 1970s, and it was difficult to foresee the sea-change in mainstream opinion which would begin within a year. The 7th July London bombings which occurred within a few months of the 2004 Christmas message were carried out by British-born terrorists, which led many in the political and media spheres to question whether enough was being done in British Muslim communities to promote integration and tackle 'home grown' extremism. In February 2011 British Prime Minister David Cameron declared state multiculturalism a failure, something which would have been unthinkable in December 2004. Meanwhile, higher than expected levels of immigration from the European Union from 2005 onwards, mainly from white Eastern Europeans, enabled sections of the press to draw a distinction between the thorny issues of immigration and race.
As was the norm by 2004, the broadcast is interspersed with unique footage of the royal family during the year. At the start we see the Queen handing out presents to family members in Buckingham Palace, most notably her (then) youngest grandchild, Lady Louise Windsor, daughter of Earl and Countess Of Wessex, who was then just over a year old. The camera then cuts to the Queen walking briskly to her position in front of the camera in the Yellow Drawing Room. Other footage shown includes the Queen at a Sikh temple and the Prince of Wales visiting a Muslim faith school, as well as the Duke of Edinburgh's work with the ARC.
