The 2005 Broadcast

Location:  Buckingham Palace

Produced by:  ITN

Theme:  After a year which included several notable disasters and tragedies, both man-made and natural,  beginning - as she states - with the Boxing Day tsunami the day after her 2004 Message was broadcast, the Queen's tone is in turn melancholy and hopeful. Elizabeth II refers to Hurricane Katrina, and also the 'vicious'  earthquakes which hit Pakistan and India.  The Queen then turns to the London bombings of 7th July: 'As if these disasters were not bad enough, I have sometimes thought that humanity seemed to have turned on itself, with wars, civil disturbances and acts of brutal terrorism', she laments.  The Queen says: 'This last year has reminded us that this world is not always an easy or a safe place to live in, but it is the only place we have.' However, on an optimistic note the Queen goes on to reflect how these disasters brought out the humanitarian instincts of people, who responded quickly with both financial and practical assistance.  Her Majesty observes that helping others is not a virtue unique to Christianity, although the world will be a better place if people try - sometimes with difficulty - to accept Christ's teaching.
  
Commentary:  In what has become something of a feature of ITN-produced Christmas broadcasts, the Queen speaks from two different settings within the same venue. This approach allows for breaks during filming, which while being perhaps less tiring for the Queen than filming in one long take as she prepared to enter her eighties, is also less monotonous for the viewer.  At the start of the broadcast, Her Majesty is seen walking down a corridor of Buckingham Palace, chatting with choristers from the Chapel Royal.  As the choirboys walk on (we presume to the Chapel), the Queen stops and begins her speech.  She concludes her address inside the Chapel, standing in front of a painting of the Madonna and Child, a reminder of the Christmas story.  The choristers sing the first verse of the carol 'Hark the Herald Angels Sing' before Her Majesty's closing words.  In a pleasing final touch, the choirboys reprise the final line of the carol as she finishes speaking.

Full text here