The 1996 Broadcast

Location:  Sandringham

Produced by:  BBC

Theme:  'To look back is not necessarily to be nostalgic'.  So begins the Queen's 1996 address in a year in which Elizabeth II reached the age of seventy.  The message is essentially an explanation of her role as monarch, together with an expression of hope in the future.  With accompanying footage, the Queen explains some of the annual ceremonies and rituals of her year:  the Maundy Service on the Thursday before Easter, Trooping the Colour in June and the State Opening of Parliament;  with each an explanation of their roots in history and tradition and their relevance for today.  The Queen talks of her state visits abroad, including in 1996 Poland (by then democratic and emerging from Communist oppression) and receiving heads of state herself, including in the previous months the state visits of Nelson Mandela and the President of France.

On a more sombre note the Queen remembers families who have endured a difficult year and recalls the massacre of schoolchildren in Dunblane earlier in the year which had horrified the whole United Kingdom as well as the massacre in Port Arthur, Tasmania which had happened in April.  The Queen says that if we have faith in and follow the example of Jesus - 'the child born at Christmas' - then the New Year 'with all its challenges and chances, should hold no terrors for us, and we should be able to embark upon it undaunted.'

Commentary:  In addition to the chilly winter blasts from the North Sea, the winds of change were blowing across the Sandringham estate during Christmas 1996 and as she enjoyed the old festive traditions she had known since a child, one gets the impression that Elizabeth II sensed it.  For a start, there were the known changes;  this Broadcast was to see the end of the long BBC monopoly of the Royal Christmas Message which it had enjoyed since King George V first took to the microphone on Christmas Day 1932.  This would also mark the last of five consecutive Broadcasts from the Queen's Norfolk home, the 'birthplace' of the Christmas Message:  the five year Sandringham 'cycle' would prove to be a pleasant aberration.
Then there was the unknown:  all the opinion polls suggested that the long period of Conservative rule in the United Kingdom was coming to an end and that 'New' Labour, with its reformist constitutional and social agenda, was heading for a large majority at the general election the following year.  However, it was to be the completely unforeseen which shook the House of Windsor itself to its very foundations;  the Queen could scarcely have imagined that in only nine months time she would be broadcasting to her subjects again as the British Monarchy faced its biggest crisis since the abdication of Edward VIII in 1936.  More than anything it would be the death of Diana, Princess of Wales which would mean that things would never be the same again for Elizabeth II.

The essence of the Queen's message is clear:  this is what I do, this is what I have always done and - no matter what changes may be ahead - this is what I will continue to do.  Her Majesty is emphatic that continuity is important and that what she does is relevant;  it is steeped in history, yet it matters in the present and the future.

Despite Her Majesty's opening words, there is definitely a nostalgic air to the production.  Dispensing with the usual royal fanfare, the Broadcast begins with specially shot footage of the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh walking through the grounds of Sandringham;  the accompanying music is the theme from the BBC's ground-breaking 1992 documentary Elizabeth R, a reminder to the viewer of the special relationship between monarch and national broadcaster (which, by the very presence of these opening shots, is implicitly acknowledged by both).

This production is more imaginative than the previous two 'samey' Broadcasts, with, in addition to the opening, the Drawing Room of Sandringham House getting some good exposure before Her Majesty walks on to the 'set':  the BBC were perhaps conscious of the official reason for ITV being brought in to the production, that the Palace wanted to try new ideas.  At the end of the programme the rousing vocal rendition of God Save the Queen heard in the 1994 broadcast is played, accompanied by montage footage of Elizabeth II's year.  The message to the viewer is "no hard feelings" between the BBC and the Palace.  The message to ITV, as they prepared to take over the responsibility for the next two years is "beat that!"

Trivia:  The Queen does not refer to her seventieth birthday, the celebrations of which had been, at her own request, low-key.  The day itself (21st April) had fallen on a Sunday and Her Majesty marked it quietly at Windsor.

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