The annual Christmas message from Queen Elizabeth II is said to be “very personal” ahead of its broadcast in the U.K. It was recorded last week, and will be delivered with a picture of the Queen with Prince Philip on the desk in front of the monarch. This is the first Christmas for the royal family since the Duke of Edinburgh died in April at age 99. The speech also comes amid concerns about the Queen’s health, as she was hospitalized briefly in October and missed a Remembrance Day service in November.
The 2007 picture was taken on the couple’s diamond wedding anniversary and features the Queen wearing a sapphire brooch. The Queen also wore the brooch, which features a chrysanthemum design, on their honeymoon in 1947, reports the BBC. This speech will also be Queen Elizabeth’s last before she celebrates 70 years since she took the throne in 2022. Queen Elizabeth, 95, was crowned in February 1952 and is the longest-reigning British monarch in history.
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Queen Elizabeth’s speech is expected to include a moving tribute to her “beloved” Prince Philip. The speech’s content is expected to be more personal than her past Christmas messages. It was recorded before Buckingham Palace announced that the Queen would stay at Windsor Castle for Christmas Day. She will not be traveling to her Sandringham Estate during the coronavirus pandemic for the second year in a row.
Members of the royal family will travel to Windsor to spend the day with the Queen, including her son Prince Charles and his wife, Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, the palace said. Princess Anne is not expected to visit since her husband, Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence, tested positive for COVID earlier this week. The U.K. has seen a jump in new COVID cases during an omicron variant surge, with 119,789 new positive tests reported on Thursday.
Buckingham Palace also announced plans for a thanksgiving service at Westminster Abbey for Prince Philip in the spring. The guest list is expected to include family, friends, political officials, and representatives from organizations Philip worked with, reports the BBC. The Daily Mail‘s sources “fully expected” that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, who live in California with their two children, will be invited.
Prince Harry and Markle also released their holiday card on Thursday. The picture, taken by Alexi Lubomirski, also includes their son Archie, 2, and daughter Lilibet, who was born in June. It is the first image of Lilibet the couple has shown to the public. “This day with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex was one such joyous experience, and one that I feel extremely privileged to have been invited to capture,” Lubomirski wrote when he shared the photo on Instagram.
