Christmas Firsts #14 : Royal Christmas Message

In the United Kingdom and in other countries with an attachment to the British Commonwealth, it is a custom to hear the Queen’s annual Christmas message.
The FIRST Royal Christmas message was broadcast in 1932 by King George V, at the insistence of Sir John Reith to introduce the Empire Service (now known as the BBC World Service). The king was most reluctant to deliver a message on the ‘wireless’ but addressed his subjects in a speech written by his friend, author Rudyard Kipling. And so began an annual event …

King George V delivering a Christmas Day message

I have been watching the second series of The Crown and discovered that in 1956 for the first time ( and only time) , Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip broadcast separate Christmas messages. Prince Philip was away at the time on the Royal Yacht Britannia touring the Commonwealth, and delivered his Christmas message from there. The Queen, spending Chtistmas with the family at Sandringham House, not only delivered her prepared speech but responded to the Prince’s speech with a personal message

Her message to Philip was: “From all the members of the family gathered here today our very best good wishes go out to you and to everyone on board Britannia, as you voyage together in the far Southern seas. Happy Christmas from us all.”

From "The Crown" - still of Prince Philip delivering his message from Britannia

Queen Elizabeth broadcast her first Christmas message in 1952 and the 1956 one was the last on radio. In 1957, the Royal Christmas message was telecast for the first time. She was anxious about her first televised broadcast . The microphone was concealed behind sprigs of holly but the queen’s nervously clasped and unclasped hands were visible.

Queen Elizabeth II- first telecast 1957

Author Daphne du Maurier prepared draft suggestions to help her, and BBC announcer Sylvia Peters gave her a tutorial on the “five best ways to make a speech on TV”, but in the end the final draft was Prince Philip’s.

She reportedly said to one of her staff after the first telecast : “I hope your Christmas went off well. Ours was upset by the television, which was nerve-racking.”

Note : There were only three years when there have been no Christmas messages from the reigning monarch .... 1936 when Edward VIII abdicated in December, reigning less than a year, 1938 - (no recorded reason) and in 1969 when a documentary about the Royal Family was released and the investiture of Prince Charles as the Prince of Wales took place. A reassurance was made by the Queen that the Christmas messages would resume in 1970... will you watch the Royal message this Christmas?

Sources :

http://mentalfloss.com/article/23497/6-christmas-firsts

http://www.radiotimes.com/news/on-demand/2017-12-08/best-christmas-tv-shows-netflix/

http://www.fridaymash.com/politicians/prince-philip

http://queenanneboleyn.com/2016/12/22/majesty-honor-tradition-monarchs-christmas-message-broadcast/

https://www.reddit.com

Lilly Pilly

Today is Australia Day. I chose a photo of some Lilly Pilly berries as a celebratory image for this national day. Lilly Pilly is a common name for a plant, Syzygium smithii which grows mostly in Eastern Australia, from the northern rain forests of Queensland, throughout NSW to the southern Wilson's Promontory in Victoria. In New Zealand it is called "monkey apple, but other names used in Australia, besides lilly pilly, are Eungella Gum and Coast Satinash. The largest Lilly Pilly recorded was found in Dingo Creek Flora Reserve, near Tenterfield where I once lived. The tree now growing in my garden was once a small seedling which I was gifted when I left Woolgoolga, a small coastal town in northern NSW. Its name is said to come from the Aboriginal word 'weelgoolga' describing the lilly pilly which grows in profusion there. It is probably no surprise that the lilly pilly berries are edible as bush tucker, and make a beautiful jam or jelly. I have even seen re...

Countdown to Christmas 15 - Diamonds Forever!

How much would you pay for a Christmas fruitcake? The world's most expensive fruit cake has been estimated at $1.65 million. Yesterday, I wrote about the less than positive term "Christmas cake as it is applied to unmarried women, so again it amazed me that in Tokyo, this most exquisite and expensive Christmas cake was created. It took six months to design and another full month to construct. The beautiful cake is fully edible ... that is except for the 223 real diamonds used as decoration. This cake was part of an exhibition called Diamonds: Nature's Miracle and was one of 16 exhibits showcasing creative ways with diamonds . Apparently, the cake was auctioned, fetching $1.65 million US. While there have been other very expensive diamond encrusted cakes since this one in 2005 with estimated values of up to $75 million, this Japanese designed cake was the forerunner of the extravagant diamond studded wedding cakes in the higher price r...

Covid Man and Book Print

This is my tag for the current theme at Tag Tuesday - Book Print. I like using text as a background for tags and today, I reduced one of my recent line drawings and printed it on a small book page .... as you can see, the book's chapter is entitled "Of Holy Living and Dying ( from The Book of Books) . I thought this was appropriate as this 'Covid man' drawing depicts Nature happily thriving while man appears to be "unravelling " at the edges of body and mind... Original drawing - Wilma Simmons Silk screen print on fabric : Wilma Simmons Silk screen print on paper : Wilma Simmons And here are some other tags on book print backgrounds - these are free motion stitched "Nature" portraits done earlier in the year.

Empress Wu Designs with Wilma

Search This Blog