Queen looks forward to wedding and a baby
THE Queen welcomed Meghan Markle to her family and looked forward to a new royal baby in her Christmas speech yesterday.
Sixty years after her first festive television message, the 91-year-old monarch spoke of her excitement at what lies ahead in 2018, when Prince Harry and Meghan wed and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have a third child.
A framed photograph of Harry and Meghan, taken on the day they announced their engagement, was displayed with other family pictures as the Queen spoke, and the couple also featured in video footage aired at the end of the festive broadcast.
Humour
The Queen also paid tribute to the people of London and Manchester following this year’s terrorist attacks and remembered the 71 victims of the Grenfell Tower fire in the capital.
She also reflected with humour on two milestones in her own life this year – her 70th wedding anniversary in November, and the Duke of Edinburgh’s decision in the summer to step down from public duties.
Speaking in the 1844 Room at Buckingham Palace, she said: “I don’t know that anyone had invented the term ‘platinum’ for a 70th wedding anniversary when I was born. You weren’t expected to be around that long.
“Even Prince Philip has decided it’s time to slow down a little, having, as he economically put it, ‘done his bit’.
“But I know his support and unique sense of humour will remain as strong as ever, as we enjoy spending time this Christmas with our family and look forward to welcoming new members into it next year.”
The Queen, wearing an ivory white dress by Angela Kelly and a starshaped diamond brooch, dedicated part of her speech to remembering the victims of this year’s terror attacks.
She added: “This Christmas I think of London and Manchester, whose powerful identities shone through over the past 12 months in the face of appalling attacks.” She described meeting survivors of the Manchester bomb attack in May as a “privilege” and praised emergency service workers who put their lives at risk saving others.
She said: “I describe that hospital visit as a privilege because the patients I met were an example to us all, showing extraordinary bravery and resilience.”
The Queen added: “And here in London, who can forget the sheer awfulness of the Grenfell Tower fire?
Technology
“Our thoughts and prayers are with all those who died and those who lost so much, and we are indebted to members of the emergency services who risked their own lives, this past year, saving others.”
In a lighter moment, the Queen referred to how she had changed since her first Christmas address, which was broadcast live in 1957 from the Long Library at Sandringham.
Black and white footage of the historic presentation was screened, showing a youthful 31-year-old monarch talking about the medium of television.
The Queen added: “Six decades on, the presenter has evolved somewhat, as has the technology she described.”
The broadcast ended as it had begun with a performance by the Commonwealth Youth Orchestra and Choir.