Queen Elizabeth Acknowledges 'Bumpy' 2019 in Annual Christmas Message
Queen Elizabeth II is well aware that 2019 was far from smooth sailing.
In her annual Christmas Day message, the 93-year-old monarch will acknowledge the sometimes difficult year, though she never specifically mentions royal family scandals, Brexit or other difficult issues facing both her country and the world.
On Tuesday, Buckingham Palace released some of her Christmas broadcast speech, which she filmed in the Green Drawing Room at Windsor Castle.
She will discuss "how small steps taken in faith and in hope can overcome long-held differences and deep-seated divisions to bring harmony and understanding."
The Queen will also make an important note about the state of affairs this year when speaking about Jesus and the importance of reconciliation, saying, "The path, of course, is not always smooth, and may at times this year have felt quite bumpy, but small steps can make a world of difference."
The palace also released an official photo of the Queen from her broadcast. In the photo, she is seen sitting at an elegant table where framed photos of her family have been placed. In those frames are pictures of her father, George VI; her husband, Prince Philip; her son, Prince Charles, and his wife, Camilla; her grandson, Prince William, with his wife, Kate Middleton, and their children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis; and the Queen with Apollo II astronauts.
Notably missing from the display are images of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, as well as Prince Andrew.
The Instagram caption notes that George VI made his first broadcast in December 1937 and helped turn it into the annual Christmas Day tradition. The very first broadcast was delivered by the Queen’s grandfather, George V, in 1932.
"Each Broadcast carefully reflects current issues and concerns, and shares The Queen's reflections on what Christmas means to her and to many of her listeners," the caption concludes.
A post shared by Kensington Palace (@kensingtonroyal) on Dec 24, 2019 at 12:24am PST
Some of the issues relating directly to the Queen's family this year include Philip's car crash earlier in the year and a four-day hospital stay this week, which he was released from on Tuesday. Her son, Andrew, stepped down from his duties following his interview about Jeffrey Epstein. And there was also Harry and Meghan, who opened up about mental health issues during their tour of South Africa and also seemingly had issues with William and Kate, though some of those have been denied.
Queen Elizabeth II's Christmas broadcast will air at 3 p.m. GMT/10 a.m.. ET/7 a.m. PT. and was produced by the BBC.
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