King Charles III gives his first Christmas speech this Sunday, December 25. A very old meeting between the monarch and the British, which will undoubtedly be particularly scrutinized this year.
That of Queen Elizabeth, on December 25, 2021, had greatly moved the British. King Charles will deliver his very first Christmas message at the end of the year, thus following a tradition that dates back to his great-grandfather, King George V. For 90 years, the British monarch has been addressing to his people on December 25, in a message broadcast on television.
Queen Elizabeth, who passed away on September 8, did not miss a single one during her 70-year reign, and even recorded the 2nd Christmas speech of her reign, in 1953, since Auckland in New Zealand. This moment of national communion was initiated by the BBC, and was initially broadcast in the United Kingdom, but also in all the countries which then constituted the British Empire.
• To address the British but not only….
“It’s a way for George V to address all of his subjects, since he was king of the United Kingdom, but also of Canada, New Zealand, Australia…”, underlines the historian of the British monarchy Philippe Chassaigne, who recalls that the king “was a little reluctant at the start, because the radio was a new means of communication”. And that “George V was not a very open mind”. “He nevertheless records this speech.”
King George V was thus enthusiastic, in his very first Christmas message, in 1932, about this “marvel of modern science, which [lui] allows on this Christmas day, to address all [ses] across the empire”. It was the famous writer Rudyard Kipling who wrote this very first speech for the king.
The tradition is launched, George V will thus make a Christmas speech until his death in 1936. His son Edward VII will not remain long enough on the throne to have the opportunity to give such a speech. He abdicated on December 10, 1936. But George VI, who succeeded him in 1937, took up the torch of Christmas messages, despite the looming war.
The king, who remained in the United Kingdom despite the danger, records messages of comfort from Sandringham and evokes the courage of British soldiers or the sadness of families separated by war.
It was Queen Elizabeth II who, in 1957, inaugurated televised christmas speeches. Twenty-five years after George V’s first Christmas speech on the radio, “it’s a way of responding to the criticisms made that year of the monarchy, too walled in its traditions”, underlines Philippe Chassaigne. This televised message is “a way of showing that the monarchy knows how to adapt to the evolution of the means of communication of its time”. The sovereign, very stiff and eyeing her notes, appears there, surrounded by photos of her family, to show that she is not so different from the British.
“Television allows many of you to see me in your homes on Christmas Day. My own family often gets together to watch television, as they are doing right now. And that’s how it is. that I imagine you”, declares the queen in her high-pitched voice.
“I hope this new medium will make my Christmas message more personal and direct,” she continues.
For the sovereign’s Christmas messages are written by his hand. “The Christmas speeches are the only speeches that the monarch writes himself, underlines Philippe Chassaigne. It is the only time in his public life, where the monarch does not read a text written by the government, as it is the case for the Speech from the Throne, opening each parliamentary session”.
While it obviously remains very consensual, the Queen’s Christmas speech has allowed her to distill a few messages over the decades and to salute certain societal developments. In 1966, she thus praised the women who “are now beginning to play their full role in public life”.
Queen Elizabeth II’s very last Christmas speech takes on a more intimate dimension. The queen evokes the disappearance of her “dear Philip” and thanks her subjects for their expressions of sympathy on this occasion.
“Christmas can be difficult for those who have lost loved ones. This year, especially, I understand why,” she said, posing next to a portrait of her and Philip, who was her husband for more than seven decades.
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The appeal of the Queen’s Christmas message has evolved over the years. “The telecast of the Christmas speech in 1957 revived the interest of the British”, notes Philippe Chassaigne. As well as the broadcast, in June 1969, of the documentary on the royal family, in June 1969, followed by 38 million viewers.
The longevity of the reign of Elizabeth II then rallied spectators. “His reign becoming longer and longer and assuming a more and more exceptional character, aroused a renewed interest in the Christmas speech”. If in the 1950s there was “an almost mystical attachment to the monarchy”, during the last 10 years of Elizabeth II’s reign, her exceptional longevity made her “an element of national pride”.
If Charles III does not enjoy the same popularity, his very first speech will undoubtedly be very popular. And if it is inevitable that the king will evoke the memory of his mother, the British – and the media – will undoubtedly be on the lookout for signals sent by his relatives. And especially to Meghan and Harry, 10 days after the broadcast of the last three episodes of their documentary on Netflix.
