Reason late Queen’s final Christmas Day speech was her most personal | Royal | News

The late Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth recorded her final Christmas Day speech in December 2021, just nine months before her death at age 96. As well as being the first festive season since the birth of her namesake 11th grandchild, Princess Lilibet, it was also the first festive season since the death of her beloved husband, Prince Philip.

The late royal died in April 2021 at the age of 99, as the couple had been married since November 1947. Speaking to the camera, she paid tribute to her “beloved Philip” in her most personal Christmas message.

The late monarch said: “Although it is a time of great happiness and joy for many, Christmas can be difficult for those who have lost loved ones. I understand why, especially this year.

“In the months since the death of my beloved Philip, I have taken great comfort in the warmth and love of the tributes to his life and work from across the country, the Commonwealth and around the world.”

In his sweet tribute, he added: “His sense of service, his intellectual curiosity and his capacity to make fun of any situation were all irrepressible. That mischievous, inquisitive twinkle was finally as bright as when I first saw him.”

The only photograph on his desk was a portrait of the couple taken in 1997 to celebrate their Golden Wedding anniversary.

She also wore the same sapphire and diamond chrysanthemum brooch she wore on their honeymoon at Broadlands in Hampshire in 1947.

The tradition of the Monarch’s Christmas Message began in 1932 with the Queen’s grandfather, King George V. The late monarch made his first publication in 1952, the year his father, King George VI, died.

Five years later, Prince Philip helped him deliver his first televised speech from the Long Library at Sandringham in Norfolk.

King III. Charles gave his first Christmas speech in 2022, just three months after his late mother’s death.