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| The scene that is apparently from a Christmas Broadcast |
In Andrew Marr's 2012 documentary Diamond Queen, there is (in episode three) a section covering the Christmas messages of Queen Elizabeth II. During this segment can be seen a few brief seconds of black and white film which the casual viewer could be forgiven for assuming was from a long forgotten Christmas Broadcast. Except that it isn't.
From the appearance of Her Majesty we can reasonably assume that the footage comes from the second half of the 1960s. The problem with this is that all the Christmas Broadcasts from this period can be identified and the clip does not match any of them. The mystery is further complicated by the fact that the footage is black and white, whereas the Queen's style is suggestive of the late 1960s (1967 or, more likely, 1968) by which time the Messages were recorded in colour. There is no record of Elizabeth II having filmed separate colour and black-and-white Broadcasts.
Another problem we have is the location. This is clearly not the Bow Room 'set' that was used from 1964 to 1968. The BBC were known to have a replica set at Television Centre which was used for screen testing during this period, which raises the possibility that this might be film from such a dummy run. However, the Queen's busy schedule did not allow for her to attend such events and it is known that the monarch's place was taken by BBC employee Binnie Marcus (who supposedly resembled Her Majesty) during the tests.
There is, of course, no doubt that this is Queen Elizabeth II apparently in the process of recording a televised address, or at least attending a rehearsal for one. But where is Her Majesty, what year was this and what is the footage from? Perhaps this is the most enduring Christmas Message mystery of all.
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| The 1968 Christmas Broadcast: the closest match to the mysterious footage |
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