The 1974 Broadcast

Location:  Buckingham Palace

Produced by:  BBC

Theme:  The Queen concentrates on problems; in Britain, the Commonwealth and the wider world.  Citing Britain's economic difficulties and alluding to the famine during the year in Bangladesh and floods in Brisbane, Australia, Elizabeth II observes that 'in the last year everything seems to have happened at once'.  However, the Queen cautions against pessimism, stating that 'the trouble with gloom is that it feeds upon itself and depression causes more depression.'  Her Majesty urges people to unite and come together to confront the current problems and praises the system of Parliamentary Government, a 'product of British genius' which had been successfully exported by Britain, as a means of ensuring rights and peacefully resolving conflict.  Despite the world's problems, the Queen wishes to offer 'encouragement and hope', reminding her audience that 'the first Christmas came at a time that was dark and threatening, but from it came the light of the world.'

Commentary:  For some time Elizabeth II had wanted to address Britain's economic difficulties in her Christmas speeches but had been prevented from doing so.  The previous year, Conservative prime minister Edward Heath had reportedly censored references to the problems in the Queen's annual message.  In 1974 Heath had lost power and Labour's Harold Wilson, who himself had objected to planned references to the economy in the 1968 Message, was back for his second stint as prime minister.  Ever the canny political operator, Wilson probably calculated that by Christmas the previous Conservative government would still be held responsible for the state of the economy;  consequently Elizabeth II was at last free to talk about the struggles being encountered by many of her subjects.

Some may describe this as one of Elizabeth II's 'sombre' speeches, but as always when her Christmas messages tackle serious matters, the Queen takes a positive standpoint, encouraging a spirit of hope.  There is an echo of the wartime spirit the young Elizabeth grew up with when the Queen says ' we are an inventive and tenacious people and the comradeship of adversity brings out the best in us'.  This is certainly not a message of festering gloom.

The production itself sticks to the essentials, so the emphasis is on Elizabeth II's words.  The Broadcast begins with a specially filmed rendition of God Save the Queen played by a band of guardsmen in the forecourt of Buckingham Palace.  Towards the end, the camera pans upwards to the flagpole where the Royal Standard flies, before cutting to the Queen.  This is the fourth and final time the arrangement of the Regency Room first seen in 1971 is used as the 'set'.

Trivia:

Prime ministers come and go (and in Wilson's case, come back again), but Elizabeth II never mentions any of them in her annual Christmas message.  The only exception was Britain's great wartime leader, Elizabeth II's first prime minister Winston Churchill, who Her Majesty referred to once - in 1999, almost thirty-five years after his death.  It is possible that the Queen took an early decision not to mention the comings and goings of particular British (or other Commonwealth) prime ministers to avoid arguments, bidding wars and accusations of bias regarding what is said, or not said, about who.


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The 1975 Broadcast

Location:  Buckingham Palace

Produced by:  BBC

Theme:  Speaking from the gardens of Buckingham Palace, Elizabeth II addresses the harsh economic climate of the time, including the problem of record inflation, but reassures her audience that Christmas reminds us of Christ's example and shows that small acts of goodness can have a combined effect:  'He showed that what people are and what they do, does matter and does make all the difference'.  Whether it is kindness and sympathy or courage and self-sacrifice, the Queen says everyone has their best to offer, which matters: 'If you throw a stone into a pool, the ripples go on spreading outwards...our daily actions are like those ripples, each one makes a difference, even the smallest.'  The Queen encourages viewers to 'take heart from the Christmas message and be happy'.

Commentary:  By the mid 1970s the view that the Message was merely a televised radio broadcast had gone;  this was now a television production with television production values.  Why, exactly, the decision was taken to film outdoors for the first time remains something of a mystery;  it has little if anything to do with the subject matter of the Queen's speech, unless one takes the view that the bleakness of Her Majesty's surroundings is an allusion to the economic climate she describes.  Clearly, however, someone thought it was a good idea.  Elizabeth II stands in a bleak midwinter scene, her bottle-green outfit adding a small splash of colour amidst the shades of grey.  A few ducks swim past on the Buckingham Palace lake, oblivious to their impending brief moment of fame.  The Palace itself is visible, just about, through the December haze.  Her Majesty delivers an admirably 'chipper' performance, seemingly unaffected by the wintriness.  If the temperatures in London on that December day in 1975 matched the backdrop, one wonders whether Her Majesty was encouraged to perform the old filming trick of sucking ice cubes to combat the cold weather problem of visible, condensed breath.  It was a change, however, and the by now familiar surroundings of the Regency Room would return the following year.

Perhaps it could be said that Elizabeth II balances the bleakness of the backdrop with the warmth of her words.  Time and again over the years the Queen has returned to her deeply held view that  small, positive acts combine to make a greater whole;  as she eloquently puts it in this Broadcast, 'If enough grains of sand are dropped into one side of a pair of scales they will, in the end, tip it against a lump of lead'.  You don't have to be a hero, Elizabeth II seems to be saying, just try to do something good each day.  The Queen wants every positive contribution, however apparently small, to feel valued.

Trivia:

In addition to being the first to be filmed outdoors, this was the first Broadcast in which Elizabeth II delivered her entire speech standing up.  She would do so again on occasions in the 1980s, and between 2003 and 2012 the Queen would deliver ten consecutive Messages from an entirely standing position.


Elizabeth II's second, and (to date) only other outdoors Broadcast would be six years later, in 1981.

For the first time the Queen is without her emergency script in case of autocue failure.  By 1975 it appeared that Her Majesty had fully embraced the television age.

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The 1976 Broadcast

Location:  Buckingham Palace

Produced by:  BBC

Theme:  Recalling her visit to the United States in the year it had celebrated two hundred years since independence, Elizabeth II talks about the importance of reconciliation, which she describes as 'the product of reason, tolerance and love'.  Highlighting those who strive for reconciliation in cases of racial, religious and sectarian division, the Queen describes the efforts of such people as 'encouraging'.  Remembering that 'good spreads outwards and every little does help', Elizabeth II likens the search for reconciliation to the recovery of the earth following the famous drought which had occurred in Britain during the summer:  'who in Britain who saw the parched earth and empty reservoirs last summer would have believed that the grass would grow so strong, so green and so soon when the drought ended? When the conflict stops, peace can blossom just as quickly.'

Commentary:  In 1976 Queen Elizabeth II had turned fifty and at Christmas was about to embark on her Silver Jubilee year.  She had reigned through seven British prime ministers and several changes of government and was already seen as a fixed point of stability in a turbulent world.  It was this uncertain world which Her Majesty sought to address with her theme of reconciliation, using her highly successful tour of the United States during the year of its Bicentennial celebrations as an example of how bitter enemies can become good friends in a relatively short space of time.  When Elizabeth II states (as the camera moves to close-up for added emphasis) that the gift she would most appreciate in her Jubilee year 'is that reconciliation should be found wherever it is needed', that may sound impossibly pious and naive to some; but the following year the Queen recalled her words and indicated that she considered that it was a wish which, in many ways, had been granted.

Normal service resumed following the outdoors Broadcast of the previous year.  The Regency Room is given a cosy, 'sitting room' makeover with the Queen delivering her entire speech from a sofa  rather than from behind a desk.  This pleasing, homely look would set the standard for the next few years.  Footage from the royal tour of the United States, including the Queen meeting residents in Harlem, New York City, is played during the Broadcast.

The Queen herself makes an unusually bold concession to the styles of the era.  Wearing a bright yellow dress with over-sized collar, there is no escaping the fact that this was the 'high' 1970s.  The fashions of the decade would subsequently be ridiculed for a generation before, inevitably, coming round again.

Trivia:

If the sofa seen in this production is the same one that was used for part of the 1971 Broadcast, it had been re-upholstered in the intervening years. It was used again in 1979 in the same setting and in 2000 when it was evidently temporarily moved to the Spanish Room.  Thirty years later the same sofa (or at least an identical replacement) could be seen in the background in photographs taken in the Regency Room to mark Elizabeth II's eightieth birthday in 2006.

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The 1977 Broadcast

Location:  Buckingham Palace

Produced by:  BBC

Theme:  Elizabeth II recalls the Silver Jubilee celebrations of 1977, reflecting on the many events of the year which she and countless others had taken part in, as well as the large-scale tour of Britain and Commonwealth countries which she and the Duke of Edinburgh had undertaken during the year.  Recalling her hopes of reconciliation the previous year, Her Majesty thanks her people for their response, commenting that it had not been an 'impossible dream', and expresses her desire for reconciliation in Northern Ireland, which she had visited during her Jubilee tour.  The Queen observes of the Jubilee year that 'the great resurgence of community spirit which has marked the celebrations has shown the value of the Christian ideal of loving our neighbours. If we can keep this spirit alive, life will become better for all of us.'

Commentary:  The Silver Jubilee year of 1977 was a happy, successful and extremely busy one for Elizabeth II.  British Prime Minister James Callaghan had decided that a national celebration was needed to detract from the economic woes of the time and the result was the biggest royal event since the Queen's Coronation in 1953 and the first royal jubilee since the Silver Jubilee of King George V in 1935.  The centrepiece of the events had been a long weekend in June when the Queen had lit the first of a chain of beacons across the United Kingdom the evening before a a service of thanksgiving at St Paul's Cathedral on 7th June preceded by a spectacular procession through the crowd-lined streets of London where the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh were driven in the Gold State Coach, the first time it had been used since the Coronation.  During the year, the Queen and Duke also embarked on an extensive tour of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth, the like of which has not been seen in a single year before or since.  However, it is the images of thousands of street parties which took place up and down the United Kingdom during the Bank Holiday weekend, where millions of ordinary Britons (including this blogger, then a pre-school child!) took part in the national jamboree, which endure in the popular memory.

Elizabeth II greets crowds on Jubilee Day, 1977

In the speech, in what would become a familiar tone for her Christmas messages in jubilee and major birthday years, Elizabeth II places the emphasis on how such celebrations bring out the best in others, rather than concentrating on herself, referring to the 'community spirit' which was evident during the year.

Building on the new look to the Regency Room 'set' which was introduced the previous year, the Queen, dressed in pale blue, sits alongside a small table in a setting which would essentially remain the same for the next few years.  In a new festive touch, Her Majesty is surrounded by a number of Christmas cards; the first time that cards had been seen in vision since the earliest live television broadcasts from Sandringham.  Photography follows the tested format of slowly zooming in on the Queen as she speaks before the camera pans out again to the long shot at the close.

Trivia:  

The 'icing on the cake' for the Queen in her Silver Jubilee year was that she became a grandmother for the first time.  Princess Anne gave birth to a son, Peter Phillips, in November;  young Peter would feature in the next year's Broadcast.

In addition to the Christmas broadcast, the Queen, along with the Duke of Edinburgh, Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother and Prince Charles, took part in the major BBC documentary Royal Heritage, broadcast to coincide with the Jubilee year.  The series was an exploration of the history of the monarchy presented by Sir Huw Wheldon.  Senior members of the royal family were interviewed or did presentations concerning their particular experiences or interests.  Particularly noteworthy was a presentation by Elizabeth II about the history of the Imperial State Crown. 

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The 1978 Broadcast

Location:  Buckingham Palace

Produced by:  BBC

Theme:  Using previous Christmas broadcasts as a means of looking back to see forward, Elizabeth II talks on the subject of the future.  Her Majesty observes that faith in the future, beginning with the birth of Christ, is a recurring theme in Christmas broadcasts since King George V began the tradition in 1932.  The Queen turns to the younger generation and remarks that, despite problems and uncertainties, faith and confidence in the future, while following Christ's example, is as important now as it was in the past.

Commentary:  Unusually, this is in a sense a Christmas broadcast about Christmas broadcasts.  Despite there being no obvious anniversary relating to the annual tradition, its history is well show-cased in this Message.  Early in the Broadcast we hear audio clips from King George V's first Christmas broadcast in 1932; George VI's Christmas message at the beginning of the Second World War in 1939 and his Christmas Day broadcast at the end of the war in 1945; as well as Elizabeth II's own first Christmas message in 1952 and the first televised Christmas broadcast in 1957.

The arrangement of the Regency Room is almost exactly the same as the previous year.  On the table next to the Queen stand the original microphones used by George V in his first Christmas Day broadcast in 1932;  these are usually kept on display in the BBC's Broadcasting House.  The presence of a few cards on the table in the background add a festive touch.

Specially-shot footage of the Queen with her daughter Princess Anne and first grandchild Peter Phillips (who was born in November 1977) are shown in this production, chiming with the theme of the younger generation and the future.  Exclusive sequences featuring members of the royal family would become more common as the 1980s and 1990s progressed.

Trivia:

Since Princess Anne insisted that her children should not have royal titles, Elizabeth II's eldest grandchild was generally, in a formal context, referred to by the somewhat antiquated courtesy title of 'Master Peter Phillips' during his childhood.

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The 1979 Broadcast

Location:  Buckingham Palace

Produced by:  BBC

Theme:   

 

In the International Year of the Child,  Elizabeth II speaks about the plight of children in the world, especially those in South East Asia where she highlights the work of her daughter Princess Anne as President of the Save the Children Fund as well as the volunteers who were helping children caught up in the conflict in Cambodia.  Her Majesty also stresses the importance and responsibility every generation faces of raising children in all walks of life:  'Children are born with a mixed package of emotions, talents and handicaps, but without knowledge or experience. As they grow up they have to learn to live with their parents and families; and they have to adjust to school, including the discovery of leisure activities and learning to handle their relationships with their contemporaries and with strangers.'

Commentary:   

 

Dressed in a warm, 'mustardy' gold, Queen Elizabeth II speaks from the sofa in a softly lit Regency Room.  At the end of the 1970s the Broadcast had moved away from the stereotype of a remote figure speaking from behind an enormous desk and the more 'homely' feel to the production was by now well established.  The Queen's camera style is also notably more relaxed and confident, perhaps a result of the reflective glow of the Silver Jubilee celebrations two years earlier, which had strengthened the bond between Monarch and subjects.

 

As God Save the Queen is played at the start of the programme, we see aerial footage of Buckingham Palace as the camera pans round the Palace, gardens and the Mall.  Such impressive scenes were increasingly routine as television production standards developed.  Also becoming more familiar by the end of the 1970s was the use of interspersed footage, sometimes specially shot, in the Broadcasts.  During this production we see an unprecedented amount of exclusive material:  the Queen talking to Commonwealth leaders at the Heads of Government meeting in Africa;  Prince Philip and Prince Andrew on the Africa trip discussing with children from the Commonwealth where they come from and their ambitions;  the Queen talking to schoolchildren in London about what the Commonwealth means to them; Princess Anne visiting refugee children in the Far East in her capacity of President of the Save The Children Fund;  the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh arriving at a huge children's party in Hyde Park attended by 80,000 youngsters and finally more scenes of the Queen, Prince Philip and Prince Andrew being welcomed and entertained by schoolchildren while in Africa. At the end of the Broadcast, aerial footage of Buckingham Palace is again played, with an echoed reprise in the background of the sound of the schoolchildren in Africa singing 'Sing Hosanna to the King of Kings'.

At a little over seventeen minutes in length, this is probably the longest of all Elizabeth II's Christmas Broadcasts.  The reason for this is almost entirely due to the large amount of interspersed footage of the Queen and members of her family, often seen in conversation with people in Britain and the Commonwealth (the bulk of which being filmed on their African tour).  These extended scenes account for more than half the programme.  Untypically long Christmas Broadcasts would almost always be due to a particular focus on the Commonwealth and foreign tours undertaken by the Queen, as could be seen again in years such as 1983 and 1999.

 

Notes:

In another technical milestone, this was the first Christmas Broadcast to include subtitles for the hard of hearing through the BBC's Ceefax teletext service.

1979 had seen tragedy for the royal family as Lord Louis Mountbatten, uncle of Prince Philip, had been murdered by the IRA on his boat while on holiday in Ireland in August.  Other members of Mountbatten's family had been killed and seriously injured in the bomb attack.  The royal family had been deeply affected by the event but the Queen, ever sensitive to political situations, made no mention of it in her speech.

The clichéd popular view of the Queen delivering her annual address from behind a large desk has, historically, actually been the exception rather than the rule.  If anything, the 'default' look is of Elizabeth II sitting alongside a small table, first seen in the very first televised Christmas message in 1957 and many times since.  Nevertheless, the image of the desk-bound monarch has persisted.  Ronnie Barker satirised the format (and even the Queen's speaking style) in the 1984 The Two Ronnies Christmas special, with his 'HM Quinn' Milkman's Speech.  In more recent years, the enduring stereotype has been parodied by, amongst others, the BBC's Dead Ringers comedy show and even the PG Tips 'Monkey'!

Elizabeth II would return to the theme of the work of Princess Anne and the Save the Children Fund ten years later in the 1989 broadcast. 

 

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The 1980 Broadcast

Location:  Buckingham Palace

Produced by:  BBC

Theme:  Recalling the eightieth birthday of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother and the celebrations across Britain to mark the Windsor matriarch's longevity and devotion to duty, Elizabeth II reflects on the spirit of service.  Speaking of her mother, the Queen observes, 'The loyalty and affection, which so many people showed to my mother, reflected a feeling, expressed in many different ways, that she is a person who has given selfless service to the people of this country and of the Commonwealth.'  Her Majesty then pays tribute to those who unselfishly give service to their communities in various different and important ways, such as caring for the sick, through churches and religious communities and in government and security.  The Queen particularly remembers those who may not even realise they deserve thanks.

Commentary:  The first broadcast of a new decade and the newly octogenarian Queen Mother is very much the star of the show.  The production begins with images from the birthday celebrations of the royal family waving from the balcony of Buckingham Palace, then shortly after Her Majesty begins speaking extended footage is shown from the service of thanksgiving at St. Paul's Cathedral which had taken place earlier in the day to mark the royal milestone.

The 1980s ultimately turned out to be a dramatic and fast-moving decade in terms of style, but there are no major innovations in this first production of the decade.  Producer Richard Cawston sticks with the cosy, lamp-lit 'sitting room' look to the Regency Room that he had developed over the course of the 1970s.  Visually, the look is very similar to the 1977 and 1978 productions, with Her Majesty sitting alongside a small table, with a lamp and flower arrangements in the background. 

However, Cawston's approach was popular.  In the United Kingdom, the 1980 Broadcast attracted an audience of 28 million, which remains a record to this day.  This was the golden age of television and Elizabeth II's annual message was an established part of it;  for many in Britain and the Commonwealth, Christmas Day without watching the Queen was unthinkable.

Trivia:

On the table next to the Queen is a photograph of the Queen Mother, along with pictures of Elizabeth II's two younger children, Prince Andrew and Prince  Edward, who during the course of the year had celebrated their twentieth and sixteenth birthdays respectively.

Although the oldest senior royal, Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother was not the oldest member of the royal family living at the time.  Queen Victoria's last surviving grandchild, Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone, died on 3rd January 1981 (a little over a week after the 1980 Message was broadcast) at the age of 97.  Princess Alice remains the longest lived Princess of the Blood Royal.

On publicity photographs from the 1980 production Elizabeth II's dress looks light blue, while on surviving film footage it appears pale green.  It seems likely that the photographs have aged better and that Her Majesty was indeed wearing blue.

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