Location: Buckingham Palace
Produced by: BBC
Theme:
Elizabeth II discusses the Commonwealth, its problems and its aspirations. The Queen reflects on her meetings with Commonwealth prime ministers and argues that 'the thread which runs through our Commonwealth is love of freedom'; a freedom which has its framework in inherited traditions and institutions and is maintained by 'a thousand invisible forces, self-discipline, the Common Law, the right of citizens to assemble, and to speak and argue.' The Queen ends with an impassioned call to the young people of the Commonwealth, in whom the future of the world rests: 'You have brains and courage, imagination and humanity; direct them to the things that have to be achieved in this century, if mankind is to live together in happiness and prosperity.'
Elizabeth II discusses the Commonwealth, its problems and its aspirations. The Queen reflects on her meetings with Commonwealth prime ministers and argues that 'the thread which runs through our Commonwealth is love of freedom'; a freedom which has its framework in inherited traditions and institutions and is maintained by 'a thousand invisible forces, self-discipline, the Common Law, the right of citizens to assemble, and to speak and argue.' The Queen ends with an impassioned call to the young people of the Commonwealth, in whom the future of the world rests: 'You have brains and courage, imagination and humanity; direct them to the things that have to be achieved in this century, if mankind is to live together in happiness and prosperity.'
Commentary:
The return to a televised broadcast after the break the previous year meant a dilemma for producers; there was the alarming, not to say embarrassing problem of the drop in ratings for the 1962 Broadcast to contend with. Part of the problem was obvious; the loss of spontaneity which came with pre-recording. It wasn't that Elizabeth II's subjects didn't love their Queen, but there was perhaps a public perception that, if Her Majesty's speech had already been said and 'canned', then if she had said anything particularly of note it would already have been known, or at least the main points could be caught up with on news bulletins.
Then there was the problem of the location. The grand state rooms of Buckingham Palace may look impressive 'in the flesh', but they certainly didn't lend themselves well to an age of monochrome television. In fact, they looked quite dark and imposing; this was particularly evident in the Broadcasts of 1960 and 1961. It was a stark contrast from the cosy intimacy of Sandringham. In her first televised Christmas message in 1957, Her Majesty had said that it was 'inevitable that I should seem a rather remote figure to many of you'. The danger now was, with her notoriously camera-conscious style an added complication, Elizabeth II was looking more 'remote' than ever: perilously close, perhaps, to coming across like an 'ice queen' speaking from her draughty Palace.
A solution had to be found to try to make the Queen appear more relaxed and accessible to her people. Disappointing it may have been to some at the BBC, but there was no question of returning to a 'live' broadcast. Also, if the Queen could ever be persuaded to speak from the comfort of her own private sitting room, it certainly wasn't in 1964. A compromise was needed and the Bow Room 'set' was born.
Ironically, the Bow Room is one of the most public rooms in Buckingham Palace; certainly it was so in the days before the state rooms of the Palace were opened to paying visitors. During the summer months, thousands of guests invited to the royal garden parties pass through its huge doors to reach the Terrace and it is anything but a quiet, cosy sitting room. The room is, however, an ideal location for a television or film 'set' because of its size. It allows for a camera crew and technicians, as well as plenty of space to create a suitable 'arrangement'.
The whole effect may be entirely contrived, but it works. The sofas in the background, as the Queen speaks from alongside a small table, allow for a homely look which had been missing since the Sandringham broadcasts. This is balanced by the impressive, gold-edged doors in the background; a reminder that this is the Queen speaking from her Palace. Also, from now Elizabeth II would be dressed in 'daywear' - smart, unfussy, comfortable; the formal dresses and evening gowns of earlier productions were gone. The production team were evidently pleased by the changes because the Bow Room 'set' would remain for the next five years, although with a few modifications (especially as the age of colour arrived in 1967).
Notes:
Of particular interest in this Broadcast is the elegant nature of the Queen's prose, which verges at times on the poetic. A case in point is Her Majesty's dreamy opening image: 'As I begin my Christmas Broadcast to you, the people of Great Britain and of the other Commonwealth countries, my mind travels far away, and for one moment I seem to be with you in many countries, which are now almost as familiar as my own native land'. Later she adds reflectively (with perhaps a little help from her sailor husband!), 'all of us who have been blessed with young families know from long experience that when one's house is at its noisiest, there is often less cause for anxiety. The creaking of a ship in a heavy sea is music in the ears of the captain on the bridge.'
In her Message, Elizabeth II does not refer explicitly to the birth of Prince Edward during 1964, as she had done when Prince Andrew was born in 1960. Prince Edward would receive more attention in the following Broadcast.
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Ironically, the Bow Room is one of the most public rooms in Buckingham Palace; certainly it was so in the days before the state rooms of the Palace were opened to paying visitors. During the summer months, thousands of guests invited to the royal garden parties pass through its huge doors to reach the Terrace and it is anything but a quiet, cosy sitting room. The room is, however, an ideal location for a television or film 'set' because of its size. It allows for a camera crew and technicians, as well as plenty of space to create a suitable 'arrangement'.
The whole effect may be entirely contrived, but it works. The sofas in the background, as the Queen speaks from alongside a small table, allow for a homely look which had been missing since the Sandringham broadcasts. This is balanced by the impressive, gold-edged doors in the background; a reminder that this is the Queen speaking from her Palace. Also, from now Elizabeth II would be dressed in 'daywear' - smart, unfussy, comfortable; the formal dresses and evening gowns of earlier productions were gone. The production team were evidently pleased by the changes because the Bow Room 'set' would remain for the next five years, although with a few modifications (especially as the age of colour arrived in 1967).
Notes:
Of particular interest in this Broadcast is the elegant nature of the Queen's prose, which verges at times on the poetic. A case in point is Her Majesty's dreamy opening image: 'As I begin my Christmas Broadcast to you, the people of Great Britain and of the other Commonwealth countries, my mind travels far away, and for one moment I seem to be with you in many countries, which are now almost as familiar as my own native land'. Later she adds reflectively (with perhaps a little help from her sailor husband!), 'all of us who have been blessed with young families know from long experience that when one's house is at its noisiest, there is often less cause for anxiety. The creaking of a ship in a heavy sea is music in the ears of the captain on the bridge.'
In her Message, Elizabeth II does not refer explicitly to the birth of Prince Edward during 1964, as she had done when Prince Andrew was born in 1960. Prince Edward would receive more attention in the following Broadcast.
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