‘THE PATH IS NOT ALWAYS SMOOTH’, QUEEN TELLS BRITAIN
HOPE FOR RECONCILIATION IN CHRISTMAS MESSAGE SMALL STEPS TAKEN IN FAITH AND IN HOPE CAN OVERCOME LONG-HELD DIFFERENCES
The Queen will on Wednesday speak of a “bumpy path” and “deep-seated divisions” in a year that has seen the country split over Brexit and the general election, as well as the scandal over Prince Andrew’s relationship with the pedophile billionaire Jeffrey Epstein.
But in her annual Christmas broadcast, the Queen will share a message of reconciliation, as she says “small steps taken in faith and hope” can overcome “long-held differences.”
She will use the 75th anniversary of D-day as an example of how the nation can move forward together.
The Royal Family are preparing for Christmas with the Prince Philip spending a fifth day in hospital, where he is being treated for an undisclosed condition.
He’s “being looked after very well in hospital,” Prince Charles, his son, said during a visit to flood-hit communities in South Yorkshire on Monday. “At the moment, that’s all we know.”
Asked later how he was, he replied: “All right. When you get to that age, things don’t work so well.”
The Queen’s Christmas message follows a turbulent year that has been compared to the monarch’s annus horribilis of 1992, when the marriages of three of her children collapsed.
This year, television interviews by both Andrew and Prince Harry and Meghan have caused controversy and prompted debate over the future of the Royal Family.
The Queen’s message was recorded in Windsor Castle’s green drawing room last week, after the election result but before Philip, 98, was admitted to hospital in central London.
However, a framed photograph of the Duke taken from the Queen’s private collection is one of only a few on display in the broadcast, in a show of love and gratitude for her “strength and stay,” as she called him on their golden wedding anniversary 22 years ago.
Speaking of the life of Jesus and the importance of reconciliation, the 93-yearold Queen will describe “how small steps taken in faith and in hope can overcome long-held differences and deep-seated divisions to bring harmony and understanding.”
She adds: “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.”
As head of state, the Queen remains neutral on political matters. Yet her message may be seen as a plea to the nation to unite in the wake of the general election and as Prime Minister Boris Johnson prepares to take the United Kingdom out of the European Union following three years of fraught negotiations.
Referring to D-day, the Queen will say: “For the 75th anniversary of that decisive battle, in a true spirit of reconciliation, those who had formerly been sworn enemies came together in friendly commemorations either side of the Channel, putting past differences behind them. By being willing to put past differences behind us and move forward together, we honour the freedom and democracy once won for us at so great a cost.”
It comes as Johnson is set to release his own Christmas message in which he will call on the country to “reflect on the year and celebrate the good that is to come.”
The Queen, wearing a royal blue cashmere dress and sporting a sapphire and diamond brooch that Prince Albert gave to Queen Victoria on the eve of their wedding in 1840, is filmed sitting at a desk with a large Christmas tree in the background.
Perhaps significantly, the photographs on her table include an image of her father, George VI, sending a message of hope and reassurance to the British people in 1944.
The work of the Royal Family has been overshadowed in recent months by the fallout from Andrew’s BBC Newsnight interview about his friendship with Epstein that was widely deemed a disaster.
As a result, some charities severed their ties with the Duke, who was effectively sacked from public duties by the Queen.