The 2019 Broadcast

Location:  Windsor Castle

Produced by:  BBC

Theme:

In a 'bumpy' year for her family and the United Kingdom as a whole, the Queen talks about the importance of reconciliation, remembering the seventy-fifth anniversary commemorations of D-Day earlier in the year, when once 'sworn enemies' had joined together for 'friendly commemorations either side of the Channel, putting past differences behind them.'  Elizabeth II acknowledges that such reconciliation takes 'patience and time' and is often the result of 'small steps'.  Her Majesty links this with the 'small step' of Neil Armstrong onto the surface of the moon fifty years earlier - a 'small step' with great significance.  Another 'small step', the Queen recalls, was the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem, overlooked by many at the time.  The Queen concludes that 'it is often the small steps, not the giant leaps, that bring about the most lasting change.'

Elizabeth II also mentions new generations protecting the environment and climate, the work of the Armed Forces and emergency services and welcomes her eighth great-grandchild, Archie Mountbatten-Windsor, to the royal family.

Commentary: 

It must be very frustrating for Elizabeth II that the years when there is the greatest media - and perhaps public - interest in the content of her speech are those when she has had a bad one.  2019 was certainly a turbulent year for the Queen, and the story of the annual Broadcast was being written possibly even before the speech itself.  The year began with Prince Philip's car crash on a Sandringham road, in which thankfully no-one was seriously injured;  there was the semi-public estrangement of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex from the rest of the royal family in general and the Duke of Duchess of Cambridge in particular; and the on-going personal scandal engulfing the Duke of York which resulted in the Queen's second son being effectively sacked from royal duties.  In the UK, the Queen's constitutional role was also in the news as a polarised Parliament resulted in Elizabeth II being played by both sides of the Brexit debate:  at one point she was compelled to sign unprecedented backbench-driven legislation into law as Remain supporters (with the connivance of Speaker John Bercow) seized control of House of Commons business; while later in the year Her Majesty was required to give permission for a controversial prorogation of Parliament, which was later, embarrassingly for her advisers, overturned by the UK Supreme Court (itself a contentious judgement).  In short, many in the media were talking about a second Annus Horribilis (a reference to her infamously bad year of 1992) and there was much speculation as to what Her Majesty might say.

Despite the frenzied conjecture, Elizabeth II's reflections on 2019 were made with her customary obliqueness;  in fact, the average Christmas Day viewer in a semi-snooze may have overlooked them entirely when spoken in context.  However, Her Majesty's comment about an at times 'quite bumpy' year was officially released on Christmas Eve and the UK press had a field day with it.

UK newspaper front pages;  Christmas Eve, 2019

Perhaps surprisingly, this was the first conventionally-delivered Christmas Broadcast to be filmed at Windsor Castle since the Queen's last notoriously difficult year of 1997, in the wake of the death of Diana, Princess of Wales (although the 'bookends' of the 1999 production were filmed at St George's Chapel and the 2003 Broadcast came from Combermere Barracks in Windsor).  Was the plan always to film at Windsor, after eight consecutive productions from Buckingham Palace?  Or was it a late alteration to fit in with Her Majesty's schedule, as filming was delayed to take account of the general election result in the United Kingdom (the first December general election in the UK since 1932)?  It is interesting to speculate, but all that can be confidently stated is that this is the first Broadcast to be filmed in Windsor Castle's Green Drawing Room.

Production reverted to the BBC for the first time since 2014 and the style is reassuringly traditional.  In fact, it is increasingly difficult to tell the different networks apart as the competitive drive for innovations and gimmickry in successive years seems to have become a thing of the past.  Her Majesty is seated behind a large desk, surrounded by flowers, family photographs and - inevitably - a Christmas tree.  In the Queen's opening scene, the camera pans around the desk before settling in a mid-shot position.  The camera slowly zooms in as the Queen says her closing words, but there is no extreme close-up.

Technical developments since the last time the Christmas Broadcast visited Windsor Castle resulted in the BBC having the opportunity to film the Castle in high definition digital. This is done with impressive effect, particularly the aerial shots at the start of the programme which give a rare glimpse of the roof of the Round Tower.

The music is provided by The Queen's Tri-Service Orchestra, who play God Save the Queen at the beginning of the programme and the carol It Came Upon A Midnight Clear at the end, sung by the Choir of St George's Chapel.  The closing shots feature charming footage of four generations of monarchs present and future - Elizabeth II, Prince Charles, Prince William and six-year old Prince George - stirring Christmas puddings in support of The Royal British Legion Christmas Pudding Stir, in scenes filmed in the Music Room of Buckingham Palace earlier in December.

Notes:  

The Queen is dressed in a blue cashmere dress with a sapphire brooch, which Dr James Anderson of the University of Reading claimed was a coded pro-European Union message, on the laughably tenuous basis that the brooch slightly resembles the EU flag and was a gift to Queen Victoria from her husband Albert - a European prince!  One can only hope that Dr Anderson composed his tweet with tongue firmly planted in cheek.

A publicity photo from the broadcast was released on Christmas Eve. Several UK tabloids noted the absence of a photograph of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex on Her Majesty's desk, implying a possible snub to Harry and Meghan and their baby son Archie, born earlier in the year.  However, when the Message was broadcast the following day, the Queen said how she and Prince Philip had been 'delighted to welcome our eighth great grandchild into our family' as a photograph of the Queen and Duke with the Sussex family was shown on screen.

The Green Drawing Room of Windsor Castle was restored in the 1990s after having been severely damaged in the 1992 fire.  The room has strong associations with Prince Harry:  the reception following his Christening in 1984 was filmed here (with footage famously shown as part of the 1984 Christmas Broadcast).  The official wedding photographs of Prince Harry and his bride Meghan Markle were also taken here following the service at St George's Chapel in 2018.

Interestingly, the Queen modifies Neil Armstrong's famous words as he stepped onto the surface of the moon by referring to a 'giant leap for mankind - and, indeed, for womankind.'  In the early decades of her reign, Elizabeth II was quite content to use 'man' and 'mankind' as universal, all-embracing terms to describe the human race (the theme of her 1968 speech, for example, was 'the brotherhood of man').  Whether this subtle acknowledgement of changing times and attitudes was made at the Queen's own initiative or at the behest of her advisers is unclear.

Elizabeth II's reference to the attitude of younger generations towards climate change has been interpreted by some as a 'nod' towards environmental campaigners such as teenage activist Greta Thunberg.

In the United Kingdom's Christmas Day ratings, the Christmas Broadcast enjoyed a ratings 'bump' of 20 percent on the previous year (perhaps in no small part due to the prior publicity and speculation), with a combined audience of 7.85 million.  However, the Queen was knocked off the top spot for the first time since 2014, slipping into second place behind a Christmas special of the comedy Gavin and Stacey, which returned after a ten-year absence.

Full text here

The 1958 Broadcast

Location:  Sandringham

Produced by:  BBC

Theme:

Elizabeth II uses one of her favourite themes in her Christmas Messages through the years; faith and family.  The Queen talks of the importance of both spiritual and family values as she explains the reasons why she has declined requests for her two young children to appear in the Broadcast and details the number of foreign trips which will be made by members of her family in the forthcoming year.  The Queen recognises the importance of scientific development, but also highlights the importance of spirituality in the history of mankind:  'prophets and dreamers, philosophers, men of ideas and poets, artists in paint, sculpture and music, the whole company who challenge and encourage or who entertain and give pleasure' as well as 'the teachers in Church, school and university, whose enormous job it is to awaken the minds of the younger generations and instil into them the essence of our accumulated civilisation.'

 

Commentary:

It would be tempting, though quite unfair, to consider the 1958 Broadcast as the 'poor relation';  subordinate to its much more famous and celebrated older 'sibling' from 1957.  In fact, this production has much going for it in its own right.  What was not known at the time was that this would prove to be the last Christmas Message to be shown live and the second of only two live television Broadcasts.

An editorial decision had evidently been made that each year's production should have its own individual identity.  Although the Broadcast is filmed in the Long Library, with all its associations with the twenty-six year history of the Royal Christmas Message, here we see the first concerted effort to turn the room into a 'set'.  The Queen is seated on a sofa, with a small table at the side of her where her speech is placed, to be referred to periodically as required.  Flowers are placed in the background on a table next to a writing desk, on which stand a smattering of Christmas cards.  The effect is that of a cosy sitting room, which is achieved with even better results than the year before:  Her Majesty is not relaxing in this room on Christmas Day, but it looks as though she is.  It is an illusion which would be re-created countless times down the years.

Elizabeth II's personal  appearance in the programme was also considered important.  Her Majesty is once again formally dressed in an evening gown and sporting a whopping four-strand pearl necklace.

This broadcast is probably best remembered for the touching explanation as to why the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh had not taken the risk of allowing their children Prince Charles, then ten, and Princess Anne, eight, to take part in the programme following numerous requests from members of the public for them to appear:  'We would like our son and daughter to grow up as normally as possible so that they will be able to serve you and the Commonwealth faithfully and well when they are old enough to do so. We believe that public life is not a fair burden to place on growing children. I'm sure that all of you who are parents will understand' Her Majesty says.  This would doubtless have been a relief to Prince Charles, whose leg was reportedly in plaster at the time following an accident at school!

Notes:

A technical problem with sound transmission resulted in millions of radio listeners missing the first eight words of the Message.  The television 'go ahead' had been given three seconds too early for sound.

The Queen's two younger children, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward (nether of whom were yet born in 1958) would appear some years later in the 1971 Broadcast.  By this time, Elizabeth II was a fully experienced mother and monarch.  There was also the 'safety net' of pre-recording.

As Elizabeth II lists a busy forthcoming year of travelling for a number of members of the extended Royal Family (many of them so long gone they will be unknown to modern audiences), she deploys a joke:  'We have no plans for space travel - at the moment.'

The Christmas Broadcast would not return to Sandringham for another thirty-four years, when it would be the base for a five-year stint between 1992 and 1996.  The Long Library would be seen in the 1993 and 1995 productions. 

 

Almost sixty years after the Broadcast was made a long-forgotten report re-emerged which told how an intrepid poodle named Sam had discovered a copy of the speech in King's Lynn market place, eight miles away from Sandringham, a few hours before the Queen was due to deliver her Message.  Sam was being walked by 20 year old John Harvey, the son of a local publican.  Harvey immediately recognised the significance of what had been found and handed in the document to a local police station.   The manuscript in fact belonged to Antony Craxton of the BBC production team and was annotated with vital producer's notes.  The speech was returned to Sandringham with all due speed; but there was an interval before it could be reunited with Craxton who, realising his briefcase was missing, had done a U-turn on his way to Sandringham back to King's Lynn (where he was staying) only to discover that the briefcase had already been handed in to the police!

Full text here