The 1957 Broadcast

Location:  Sandringham

Produced by:  BBC

Theme:

In a landmark Christmas Broadcast, Elizabeth II gives her annual address on television for the first time, on the twenty-fifth anniversary of her grandfather, King George V, delivering the very first Royal Christmas Message.

The Queen expresses her hope that the new medium will allow her to relate to her Subjects in a more personal, less remote way:

 'It is inevitable that I should seem a rather remote figure to many of you. A successor to the Kings and Queens of history; someone whose face may be familiar in newspapers and films but who never really touches your personal lives. But now at least for a few minutes I welcome you to the peace of my own home.'

Her Majesty acknowledges the rapidly changing times, but warns that 'ageless ideals' such as religion and personal and public morality should not be lost and that we should 'take advantage of the new life without losing the best of the old.'

Elizabeth II takes pride in the growing Commonwealth and pledges her 'heart and my devotion' to Britain and to 'all the peoples of our brotherhood of nations.'

 

Commentary:

This is probably the most famous of all Elizabeth II's Christmas Broadcasts and the most daunting to review, largely because of the sheer weight of material that has been written about it.  

 

The historic moment of the first televised Message transformed the Monarch's seasonal greetings from the radio speech of bygone days to the beginnings of the television tradition we know today.   In fact, one could argue that the story of 'the Queen's speech' as we know it begins here.

 

The BBC had made tacit approaches to Buckingham Palace from the earliest years of the Queen's reign, but Elizabeth II had steadfastly resisted pressure to go in front of the television cameras.  The excuse given was that most of the Commonwealth did not have access to television and the two countries which did - Canada and Austrailia - would require a pre-recording, thus losing spontaneity.  A more personal consideration was that the presence of a television crew - and all that comes with it - at Sandringham would put a strain on the royal family's Christmas (Pimlott, The Queen, 1996).

Nevertheless, by 1957 television had become the norm in Britain and audience figures for the Queen's radio broadcast had begun to drop alarmingly.  There was a sense within the Palace that a televised Broadcast was an inevitablity (Pimlott, 1996).

 

 

Instrumental in plans to televise the Broadcast would be the Queen's husband, Prince Philip.  The Duke of Edinburgh had become more enthusiastic about the idea through the encouragement of BBC executive Anthony Craxton, an old school contemporary from Gordonstoun.  It was Prince Philip's influence which would be the deciding factor for Elizabeth II (Seward, The Queen's Speech, 2015).

It was deemed natural that the BBC, as the producer of the radio broadcast, should be given the monopoly of the television production.  This irked the Independent Television Authority, who, as commercial television was becoming more popular in the United Kingdom, were eager to get in on the act.  An important condition was that the Broadcast would not be a television broadcast as such, but a televised radio broadcast with the Queen shown in front of a microphone reading a script, with absolutely no use of a teleprompter.  Elizabeth II, ever a stickler for authenticity, was concerned that to use such a device and appear not to be reading a script would be considered acting and almost dishonest.  As BBC staff were told, 'Her Majesty is very averse from artificiality'  (Robert Lacey, Royal, 2002; Pimlott, 1996).

 

As the BBC's head of outside broadcasting, Peter Dimmock was put in charge of production.  Four rehearsals were conducted at Buckingham Palace starting in early October of 1957.  Even the desk and curtains  were brought over from Sandringham to try to simulate as much as possible the reality the Queen would face on Christmas Day (Seward, 2015).  Elizabeth II's early experiences in front of a camera were evidently not encouraging.  Her Majesty froze in front of a teleprompter and frequently protested, 'I am not an actress'.  'She was not,' recalled Dimmock.  'She found the teleprompter unnerving and kept staring straight at the camera.  I told her to look down occasionally.  Prince Philip came in and suggested a few alterations to the script.  It helped - but not much - and every time the Queen started to speak nerves pushed her voice up two octaves' (Seward, 2015).  Dimmock would later recall that on the day 'the Queen was extremely accomplished with the teleprompter and read the message brilliantly.'

 

In the days before the Broadcast a large television crew descended on Sandringham and pain-staking tests were made on important technical issues such as sound and lighting.  Despite being transmitted in black and white, colour and texture were considered important with regard to how the programme would appear on screen.  The Queen's gold brocade dress by Norman Hartnell was chosen from a shortlist of three weeks in advance, with Elizabeth II, her dresser Bobo MacDonald and BBC producers all agreeing it was the best choice (Seward, 2015).  Make-up artist Tommie Manderson was brought in to administer the heavier make-up the Queen would require to appear on camera (Seward, 2015).

Getting the nervous young Queen to appear natural on camera would prove to be a problem, not made any easier by the fact that the words of the speech were not her own;  actually, the final draft was Prince Philip's.  A BBC official recalled that 'the fact that the Queen had nothing to do with the script made our job a tough one.  It is the most difficult thing in the world to give a personal message that in fact is not personal' (Pimlott, 1996; Seward, 2015).

In the end, it was Prince Philip, who had been so involved in the development of the televised Broadcast, who saved the day.  He remained in the room the whole time and made jokes beforehand to help the Queen relax.  At the end of the broadcast, the Prince made a silly face which the Queen caught sight of, resulting in the famously radiant smile she gives at the end of her speech (Lacey, 2002; Pimlott, 1996; Seward, 2015).

Ultimately, the first televised Christmas Message was very well-received.  Nearly half the UK population watched it (Marr, The Diamond Queen, 2012), with Audience Research reporting that the 3pm Broadcast had an audience of sixteen and a half million (Pimlott, 1996).  The press were gushing with praise, with the Daily Mirror commenting on the Queen's 'easy friendliness'.

 

When watched more than sixty years later it is easy to see how much has changed technologically over the years: the black and white monochrome is grainy, camera angles are restricted and the now familiar interspersed footage was years away.  Yet, the production is at the same time reassuringly familiar:  God Save the Queen plays at the beginning as outside shots of the royal residence is shown, just as happens today.  Her Majesty sits at a desk surrounded by photographs of her family and evidence of Christmastime, as she still does now.  The flower arrangement on the desk was used to conceal a microphone in 1957 (Seward, 2015);  that might not be necessary with today's technology, but even in recent years a suitably festive arrangement is invariably placed on the desk or table at the Queen's side!

A compromise seems to have been reached over the teleprompter.  Elizabeth II does appear to be using one, though she glances down at a script from time to time to make clear that she is reading a prepared speech.  The Queen's broadcasting style actually seems quite professional and typical of the presenting standards of the day, with characteristic clipped speech and formal demeanour.  However, Her Majesty seems genuinely relaxed and friendly;  when she speaks of welcoming viewers 'into the peace of my own home' it strikes just the right note of warmth between Monarch and people.  Many viewers must have been fascinated to actually see the Queen, speaking live, sending them festive greetings from the very place that she was spending Christmas Day.  A new tradition had been set and, although there would only be one further live television broadcast, the televised speech would go on to become an integral part of Christmas Day for millions in Britain and the Commonwealth.

Notes:

 

Towards the end of the speech, Elizabeth II quotes from Bunyon's Pilgrim's Progress.  Originally, the appropriate quote had been inserted in a book chosen at random.  The Queen, striving as always for authenticity, realised this and asked before the broadcast whether an actual copy of the book could be retrieved from the Sandringham Library.  A genuine copy of Pilgrim's Progress was duly found! (Seward, 2015).

 

There was renewed interest in the 1957 Broadcast when Elizabeth II referenced it in her 2007 Message, on the fiftieth anniversary of the programme.  It was presented in a "then and now" format, with the Broadcast starting with the Queen speaking in 1957, before merging into the 2007 speech as Her Majesty watches on a monitor.  In a nod to changing technology, the royal family posted the 1957 speech on YouTube, where it remains in its entirety to this day. The Queen made yet another reference to the Broadcast ten years later in 2017 on its sixtieth anniversary.  On this occasion Elizabeth II joked,  ''six decades on, the presenter has ‘evolved’ somewhat, as has the technology she described.''

 

Elizabeth II broadcast from the same desk, at the same chair in the Long Library, as her grandfather King George V had done during the very first Christmas Broadcast from Sandringham twenty-five years earlier. 

According to the 2015 BBC documentary Cue The Queen:  Celebrating the Christmas Speech some viewers believed that, due to a technical hitch, sound was briefly interrupted by two American police  officers holding a conversation over a police radio frequency.  Some even thought they heard the words 'Joe, I'm gonna grab a quick coffee.'

In Season Two of the popular Netflix series The Crown, Claire Foy, playing Elizabeth II, famously recreates part of the 1957 Christmas broadcast, complete with a replica of Norman Hartnell's iconic dress.  Interestingly, the scenes are filmed in a 'mirror image' reverse of the actual broadcast.

Claire Foy as Elizabeth II recreates the 1957 speech in The Crown

 

The Broadcast was shown simultaneously on BBC and ITV.  The Commonwealth received the Message in sound only because the technical limitations of the day did not enable live television to be transmitted internationally (Seward, 2015).

Many years later, photographs emerged of the young Prince Charles and Princess Anne playing with the technical equipment in the Long Library prior to the broadcast.  The pictures were in the collection of the late Harold Mayhew, the BBC's superintendent of lighting, and came to light via an episode of the BBC's Antiques Roadshow.

 

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The 2020 Broadcast

 

Location:  Windsor Castle

Produced by:  BBC

Theme:

In what was perhaps the most extraordinary year of her long reign, Elizabeth II praises the front-line healthcare workers and 'good Samaritans' who served Britain and the Comonwealth during the Covid-19 pandemic amid the extreme measures introduced worldwide to try to stop its spread: 'In the United Kingdom and around the world, people have risen magnificently to the challenges of the year, and I am so proud and moved by this quiet, indomitable spirit. To our young people in particular I say thank you for the part you have played.'   The Queen remembers those who have lost loved ones during the year and the millions seperated from families and friends at Christmas due to 'lockdowns', but observes positively, 'Remarkably, a year that has necessarily kept people apart has, in many ways, brought us closer.' As so often, Her Majesty also recalls the Christmas story and explains how her own Christian faith is a help and comfort in dificult times, stating that the teachings of Christ have 'served as my inner light'.

Commentary:

Elizabeth II broadcasts from the Green Drawing Room at Windsor Castle, as she had done twelve months earlier;  the first time the same room had been used for two consecutive years since 1991 (when the long dominance of the Regency Room at Buckingham Palace as the default location of the Christmas Broadcast ended).  At first glance it looks as though the Queen was wearing the same dress as the previous year, too;  although Her Majesty is actually dressed in rich purple (an Angela Kelly creation) rather than the royal blue of 2019.  If the Queen had been consciously hinting that it would be a good idea to 'system restore' to the previous Christmas, doubtless few of her subjects would have disagreed!

Incredibly, this was the Queen's third television address of the year - or at least it would have been incredible in any year other than 2020.  Her Majesty had delivered her now famous 'We will meet again' speech on 5th April (echoing the famous wartime song of 'Forces Sweetheart' Dame Vera Lynn), as the United Kingdom entered full 'lockdown' due to the spiralling number of coronavirus cases affecting the UK and virtually every country in the world.  Elizabeth II addressed the UK and Commonwealth again on 8th May, as the 75th anniversary of VE Day took place with the UK in 'lockdown'.  Such non-Christmas television addresses are extremely rare and there had hitherto only been four precedents in Elizabeth II's record-breaking reign: the outbreak of war in the Gulf in 1991; the death of Diana, Princess of Wales in 1997; the death of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother in 2002 and the Diamond Jubilee of 2012. 

Elizabeth II addresses the UK and Commonwealth on 5th April, 2020.

The content of the 2020 speech was kept a closely-guarded secret until broadcast on Christmas Day, in an effort to maximise the impact of the Queen's words.  A senior source was quoted as saying: "It's the surprise factor. We just felt it would help with the impact this year."  This was in sharp contrast to the previous year, when the Christmas Eve press ran with officially released teasers about Elizabeth II's reference to a 'bumpy' 2019.

The Christmas Broadcast is usually recorded in early December, but by the middle of the month the media were reporting that the speech was still not 'in the can', apparently because of Brexit uncertainty.  The United Kingdom was due to leave the European Union on 31st December, with or without a deal; but negotiations between the UK and EU were going 'down to the wire' (a deal was ultimately announced on Christmas Eve).  It was supposed that Elizabeth II may have wished to refer to the uncertainty in the event that the UK was to leave without a deal.

When the speech finally was recorded, it was filmed in very different circumstances to previous years.  In line with medical guidelines, three 'socially-distanced' BBC camera crew, dressed in PPE, were present in the room with the Queen.

When Her Majesty's carefully-guarded words were finally revealed, they had full dramatic impact.  Like millions of others in the UK and Commonwealth, Elizabeth II had spent Christmas seperated from loved ones;  isolating quietly with the Duke of Edinburgh and core staff at Windsor and away from Sandringham for the first Christmas in more than thirty years.  Many Britons had been expecting to spend Christmas with their families, but prime minister Boris Johnson's sensational u-turn in 'locking down' London and the south-east of England, just three days after confirming the planned five-day Christmas 'bubble', meant that for millions of people plans had to be scrapped.  The Queen's highly unusual emotional words made headlines across the world.  The essential message was "I share your pain":

'Of course, for many, this time of year will be tinged with sadness: some mourning the loss of those dear to them, and others missing friends and family-members distanced for safety, when all they’d really want for Christmas is a simple hug or a squeeze of the hand. If you are among them, you are not alone, and let me assure you of my thoughts and prayers.'

Yet, despite the difficult and uncertain times, Elizabeth II's Christian faith stood  resolute and rock-like as ever.  In the United Kingdom, recourse to God had not been part of the national strategy as far as the Government and media were concerned;  in fact, for many months places of worship had been forced to close.  For Elizabeth II, however, religion was highly relevant:  'The teachings of Christ have served as my inner light, as has the sense of purpose we can find in coming together to worship.' 

The Broadcast itself is, understandably, visually somewhat scaled-down compared with the previous year.  The Green Drawing Room is slightly re-arranged and the Queen is seen from two different camera angles.  The BBC team did an excellent job of maintaining production standards despite working with a considerably-reduced technical crew.  However, by necessity some of the 'niceties'  that were possible the previous year were not an option in 2020:  there are no wide-shots or roving camera angles showcasing the room, which is less sumptuously decorated than it had been a year earlier. One of the more noticable differences is that the Queen appears not to have had her usual Christmas broadcast 'makeover', perhaps doing her more subtle make-up herself or with the assistance of Angela Kelly. 

Interspersed within the programme is footage of the Queen and members of her family during the year, often donning face masks and observing now standard 'social distancing' behavior which just twelve months previously would have been considered plain weird. This included Elizabeth II wearing a face covering while commemorating the Unknown Warrier at his tomb in Westminster Abbey during the Remembrance period in November. Captain Tom Moore, who became a national celebrity in the UK during lockdown for his fundraising efforts for the National Health Service by walking a sponsored one hundred laps of his garden as his 100th birthday approached, is not mentioned by name in the text of the speech, but features twice in the interspersed footage;  firstly as Her Majesty praises those who made a particular effort during the pandemic (Moore ultimatelty raised a staggering £33 million) and secondly as he is knighted by Elizabeth II for his efforts in the grounds of Windsor Castle in a specially organised ceremony.

As usual in recent years, the Broadcast is supported by musical 'bookends'; at the beginning we see the band of the Household Cavalry, mounted on horseback, playing God Save the Queen outside St George's Chapel.  At the end of the production, the Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Choir, who topped the UK charts ar Christmas 2015 with A Bridge Over You sing the cheerful carol Joy To the World.  The Choir were instructed to learn the carol, but were kept in the dark as to the reasons why; only being told when they met up at their reglar rehearsal location of University Hospital Lewisham in south-west London that they would be taking part in the Queen's Christmas broadcast.

Notes:

The Queen wears the Courtauld Thomson Scallop-Shell Brooch which once belonged to Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, with whom it was a particular favourite.  The brooch was designed by Lord Courtauld-Thomson, the son of a famous Scottish inventor.  It was made in 1919 in London by The Goldsmiths and Silversmiths Co., Ltd, before being left to Queen Elizabeth in 1944 by his sister, Winifred Hope Thomson.  The Queen Mother wore the brooch on numerous occasions, including on her 100th birthday.

Andre Levy, who sings with the Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Choir, said on Christmas Day: 'Only now am I digesting the experience, it was too much to take in on the day.  It's like a child being given all the nicest things in the world in one go, without being able to sift through and appreciate it. It was an amazing experience.  We were absolutely oblivious, everything was kept out of sight. Some of us were speculating among ourselves that it might be a high-profile celebrity, we even thought possibly royalty...Everyone was shocked, there was a little bit of silence but overall there was a euphoric feeling. Everyone was extremely excited, including myself, and felt very privileged to be a part of something like that...With everything that people have gone through - it's been one of the toughest years in history - it's wonderful to end on a high.' 

Elizabeth II addresses the Commonwealth on the 75th anniversary of VE Day; 8th May, 2020.

As with the 2019 Christmas Broadcast, the 2020 production was filmed in Windsor Castle's Green Drawing Room.  Elizabeth II's unprecedented previous two broadcasts of the year, in April and May, had been recorded in the Castle's White Drawing Room.

It seems likely that the location of the Broadcast had been intended to revert back to Buckingham Palace in 2020.  A possible explanation as to why there have been so few Christmas Broadcasts recorded at Windsor Castle during Elizabeth II's reign - previously only six: 1982, 1984, 1997, 1999, 2003 and 2019 - was offered by Robert Hardman, who pointed out that recording anything at Windsor can be problematic because of large amounts of air traffic, given the Castle's proximity to Heathrow.  Hardman quotes the Duke of Edinburgh as having revealed that ' whenever the chosen location has been Windsor, it’s been a case of speaking in "30-second chunks" in between aircraft movements.'  With the vastly reduced number of flghts during the lockdown and coronavirus pandemic, this had not been a particular problem in 2020. 

 Perhaps weary of  the media game of  'who's in and who's out' regarding the photographs displayed during her Christmas broadcasts (most evident the previous year when much was made by the press of the absence of a photograph of Harry, Meghan and baby Archie) the Queen  chose to have only one photograph on her desk this year.  It is of her husband of 73 years, the Duke of Edinburgh, thought to have been taken in Sandringham in 2002.  The Queen and Duke isolated together for much of 2020; mainly at Windsor, but also at Balmoral and the Sandringham Estate.

Elizabeth II's highly-regarded coronavirus broadcast on 5th April reached a television audience in the United Kingdom of a staggering 24 million, making it the second-largest television audience in ten years (second only to prime minister Boris Jonhson's speech announcing 'lockdown' a week prior). Such large viewing figures for network television are highly unusual in the post-millennium era.  Some regarded it as the Queen's 'finest moment', following Her Majesty's stirring comments such as 'we will succeed' and 'we will meet again'  as she spoke to a n uncertain and frightened world.

 Elizabeth II actually made four broadcasts during 2020.  A sound-only recording was released on Holy Saturday, 11th April.  This was at the height of the coronavirus pandemic and is believed to be the first time that the Queen has given any form of Easter message. 

This year's technical 'first' was that the Broadcast was released on Amazon Alexa smart devices. 

Left-leaning UK network Channel 4 aired a 'deep fake' alternative message on Christmas Day featuring a manipulated 'Elizabeth II' supposedly speaking free from the constraints of the BBC; criticising Harry and Meghan, Prince Andrew and  performing a 'Tik Tok' dance.  The programme was widely condemned as mean-spirited, disingenuous and lacking in significant creative or artistic merit.

In the UK, Elizabeth II's speech reclaimed top spot in the Christmas Day ratings with 8.14 combined television viewers.  This was comfortably ahead of Call the Midwife, in second place with 5.43 million. 

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