Queen Elizabeth II began her Christmas speech, as expected, with personal tones recalling the figure of her late consort, Prince Philip. “Christmas can be difficult for those who have lost loved ones. Especially this year I understand why, ”said the Queen, married to the Duke of Edinburgh for 73 years.
“For and for my family, even if we miss a familiar laugh this year, there will still be the joy of Christmas, as we have the opportunity to remember,” said the monarch in the traditional speech broadcast on TV. his presence also at Christmas », said the queen who, for the first time in decades, is spending the Christmas holidays without her usual companion. The Duke of Edinburgh died at the age of 99 last April.
Recorded days ago in Windsor where the Queen spent the holidays in a restricted format, against the backdrop of the spread of the pandemic, this year’s message was unusually personal. At 3 pm in London, 4 pm in Italy, Elisabetta appeared on TV, in a set already widely anticipated: red dress and pearl necklace, she spoke sitting at a table, on which a photograph of her with Filippo, dating back to the their 60th wedding anniversary. Symbolically, the monarch wore the sapphire brooch she wore both on her honeymoon in 1947 and on her 2007 wedding anniversary.
Of his wife Elisabetta he affectionately recalled “the sense of service, intellectual curiosity and the ability to distil fun from every situation”. All qualities, he added, “unstoppable”. “That mischievous, inquiring sparkle sparkled to the end, as when I first saw it,” he recalled. The royal family will celebrate Christmas with “a familiar laugh that’s missing this year,” admitted the queen, but “as much as we miss you, I know she would like us to enjoy Christmas.”
Elisabetta also addressed the issue of the impact of the pandemic, stating that this year “Covid means again that we cannot celebrate as we would have liked”. The queen has in fact canceled her traditional trip to the Sandringham estate in eastern England, as a precautionary measure, choosing to spend the holidays at Windsor Castle. He also decided not to attend the Christmas service in the castle’s St George’s chapel this morning, although the rest of the family were present. The monarch then said she was “proud” that the eldest son Charles and his eldest son William are following in Philip’s footsteps in “taking the environmental question seriously”. He then praised the “loving” support given to them on this issue by their wives, Camilla and Kate, at the COP26 climate change summit in Glasgow in November, at which she was unable to do the honors due to health problems.
In a message of hope, Elizabeth said she can’t wait to celebrate her Platinum Jubilee next year, when she will celebrate the 70th anniversary of her accession to the throne following the death of her father, George VI. The anniversary was defined by herself as “an opportunity for people from all over the world to enjoy a sense of unity” and “look forward with confidence”. Speaking of her “great happiness” at the passing of family traditions from one generation to the next, the Queen referred to the birth of four great-grandchildren this year, including Prince Harry’s daughter Lillibet, born in June and bearing his name.
This was the only reference to his beloved nephew, who with his wife Meghan Markle moved to the US from where, in March, he accused the Royal Family of racism, in a sensational interview with the American TV presenter Oprah Winfrey.