0:00:02 > 0:00:07In the early summer of 1923, a remarkable event occurred.
0:00:09 > 0:00:16'On this day, my people in all parts of the world
0:00:16 > 0:00:20'join to celebrate their unity and to...'
0:00:20 > 0:00:23For the first time ever, the voice of a British monarch
0:00:23 > 0:00:28could be heard by his subjects at home and throughout the Empire.
0:00:28 > 0:00:30'..has its own life to live...'
0:00:32 > 0:00:38For over 60 years, each December, the Queen has prepared for her
0:00:38 > 0:00:41Christmas Message to her people in Britain and the Commonwealth.
0:00:44 > 0:00:48The technology may be different from that used by her grandfather,
0:00:48 > 0:00:52George V, when he recorded his gramophone record here,
0:00:52 > 0:00:54but the sentiments are still the same.
0:00:57 > 0:01:01Every Christmas Day at three o'clock, the Queen
0:01:01 > 0:01:05comes into our homes and speaks directly to her people.
0:01:05 > 0:01:09I very much hope that this new medium will make my Christmas
0:01:09 > 0:01:12message more personal and direct.
0:01:12 > 0:01:15These are not the words of politicians,
0:01:15 > 0:01:19but the Queen's own personal thoughts and reflections.
0:01:19 > 0:01:24A festive tradition from Britain's longest-reigning monarch.
0:01:24 > 0:01:27I hope you all have a very happy Christmas.
0:01:40 > 0:01:43At the beginning of the 20th century,
0:01:43 > 0:01:47it became possible to witness moving images of Britain's kings
0:01:47 > 0:01:49and queens through the medium of film.
0:01:56 > 0:01:59While the monarchy was happy to be filmed,
0:01:59 > 0:02:02recording their voices was considered a step too far.
0:02:06 > 0:02:11That was until 1923, when King George V was persuaded
0:02:11 > 0:02:13to record a short message
0:02:13 > 0:02:17here at Buckingham Palace for the children of the British Empire,
0:02:17 > 0:02:21a process which, in those days, was by no means straightforward.
0:02:21 > 0:02:25In 1923, the recording technology was
0:02:25 > 0:02:27what is called acoustic recording,
0:02:27 > 0:02:29so there were no microphones involved,
0:02:29 > 0:02:34no electricity and the recording had to be made totally acoustic.
0:02:34 > 0:02:36My first question there is - and I've got a few -
0:02:36 > 0:02:38how do you make a recording without a microphone?
0:02:38 > 0:02:42Well, what you do is you channel the sound down a horn
0:02:42 > 0:02:43and I have one here...
0:02:43 > 0:02:46I'm absolutely bamboozled by the idea that there was no microphone.
0:02:46 > 0:02:49So this is instead, is it?
0:02:49 > 0:02:51This is a recording horn.
0:02:51 > 0:02:55Now, it would normally be fixed on a stand and the end
0:02:55 > 0:02:59of the horn would be attached to a machine, a recording machine...
0:02:59 > 0:03:02- Right. So you talk down that bit? - You talk down that bit...
0:03:02 > 0:03:05- It looks unlikely. - Would you like me to have a go?
0:03:05 > 0:03:08Yeah, I'd like you to have a go, yes.
0:03:08 > 0:03:12I am Tony Locantro, speaking into a recording horn,
0:03:12 > 0:03:14pretending to make an acoustic gramophone record.
0:03:14 > 0:03:16KIRSTY LAUGHS
0:03:16 > 0:03:19So would it have been a straightforward thing,
0:03:19 > 0:03:20or was it a palaver?
0:03:20 > 0:03:22How would the King have gone about that business of recording?
0:03:22 > 0:03:24HE LAUGHS
0:03:24 > 0:03:27You only did it once because you cut a groove into a wax master
0:03:27 > 0:03:29and it had to be perfect for the whole
0:03:29 > 0:03:32duration of the three or four minutes of the record.
0:03:32 > 0:03:35- Quite a palaver. - It was, indeed, quite a palaver.
0:03:37 > 0:03:39Do we know what was said by George V?
0:03:39 > 0:03:41- We have the recording. - Right.
0:03:41 > 0:03:43This is the disc and this disc, the...
0:03:43 > 0:03:45- Can I take it out? - Yes, of course.
0:03:47 > 0:03:50- It's got this wonderful sort of very regal royal purple.- Indeed.
0:03:50 > 0:03:53It looks special and it says on this label, "To the boys
0:03:53 > 0:03:57"and girls of the British Empire from His Majesty King George V
0:03:57 > 0:03:59"and Her Majesty, the Queen Mary."
0:03:59 > 0:04:04It was sent out in a sealed package to schools all over the British
0:04:04 > 0:04:10Empire and on Empire Day, which was the 24th of May, the pupils
0:04:10 > 0:04:16were assembled and the package was ceremoniously unwrapped and unsealed
0:04:16 > 0:04:20and the record was then played on a traditional gramophone of the time.
0:04:20 > 0:04:25'Each of our many people has his own life to live...'
0:04:25 > 0:04:29I mean, it must have been hugely exciting for the children,
0:04:29 > 0:04:31for the teachers, for everybody involved, to actually hear
0:04:31 > 0:04:34the voice of the monarch, something that had never, up until then,
0:04:34 > 0:04:35been heard before.
0:04:35 > 0:04:38Absolutely. Nobody heard the voice of the monarch unless you happened
0:04:38 > 0:04:42to be at some occasion where the monarch was speaking.
0:04:42 > 0:04:46'..by brave and wise men and women in the past.'
0:04:48 > 0:04:52This last year has been one of great celebration for many.
0:04:52 > 0:04:56As well as her annual Christmas television message,
0:04:56 > 0:05:00every year the Queen also makes a separate radio broadcast.
0:05:00 > 0:05:02This is very good.
0:05:02 > 0:05:06So I'll stop when I get to the bottom of this.
0:05:06 > 0:05:10It was radio, in fact, which got the whole thing started.
0:05:10 > 0:05:13RADIO TUNING
0:05:13 > 0:05:17A few months before the King recorded his first gramophone record
0:05:17 > 0:05:20at Buckingham Palace, a radio station started
0:05:20 > 0:05:25broadcasting from a building on the Strand, about a mile away.
0:05:25 > 0:05:28Its call sign was 2LO.
0:05:28 > 0:05:30'2LO, Marconi House, London, calling,
0:05:30 > 0:05:33'2LO, Marconi House, London, calling.'
0:05:34 > 0:05:39It wasn't long before 2LO became the BBC.
0:05:44 > 0:05:45WALTZ MUSIC
0:05:58 > 0:06:03In those early days of the BBC there were no rules and regulations,
0:06:03 > 0:06:07it was just a case of experimenting to the 30,000 listeners with
0:06:07 > 0:06:10what you had and what you could do.
0:06:13 > 0:06:17The person in charge of the BBC at the time was a young Scottish
0:06:17 > 0:06:20engineer whose portrait hangs in the Council Chamber
0:06:20 > 0:06:22at Broadcasting House.
0:06:24 > 0:06:29At 6ft 6, John Reith was a giant of a man who believed in taste and
0:06:29 > 0:06:34morality and would defend it with courage, arrogance and ferocity.
0:06:34 > 0:06:36John Reith was also canny
0:06:36 > 0:06:40and he realised the potential of his new radio, or the wireless, as it
0:06:40 > 0:06:45was called, as a way for leaders to speak directly to their people.
0:06:45 > 0:06:47He wrote to King George V, asking him
0:06:47 > 0:06:51whether he would be interested in delivering a message
0:06:51 > 0:06:56to his people, on Christmas or New Year's Day, live via the wireless.
0:06:56 > 0:07:01He also added that it would help to boost radio manufacturers' sales.
0:07:01 > 0:07:04Well, the King...declined.
0:07:04 > 0:07:06REGAL MUSIC
0:07:12 > 0:07:15George V had in fact already made a broadcast,
0:07:15 > 0:07:19when he opened the 1924 Empire Exhibition at Wembley.
0:07:20 > 0:07:23'You see before you a complete
0:07:23 > 0:07:27'and vivid representation of all your Empire.'
0:07:28 > 0:07:32Large numbers of people listened to the King on the wireless,
0:07:32 > 0:07:37both at home and from loudspeakers placed in public areas.
0:07:37 > 0:07:41George V's voice was clearly in demand,
0:07:41 > 0:07:43much to the King's dismay.
0:07:45 > 0:07:48He doesn't have confidence in himself as a speech giver
0:07:48 > 0:07:51and therefore in the '20s, when some of these openings
0:07:51 > 0:07:54want to be recorded by, you know, new organisations
0:07:54 > 0:07:58such as the BBC, it adds to the stress of it
0:07:58 > 0:08:01because not only are you saying this, but here you are,
0:08:01 > 0:08:05you have a physical record of every time you stammer, every time you
0:08:05 > 0:08:09mistake a word, so this is greatly concerning for the King, for a
0:08:09 > 0:08:13man who, I would say if you got him to list his own personal qualities,
0:08:13 > 0:08:17he would probably not list public speaking as one of his top ones.
0:08:20 > 0:08:24It was Britain's Prime Minister, Ramsay MacDonald, who finally
0:08:24 > 0:08:28persuaded George V that, as the Empire was transformed
0:08:28 > 0:08:33into the Commonwealth, the monarchy was pivotal in maintaining unity.
0:08:33 > 0:08:36A personal speech from the King to his subjects
0:08:36 > 0:08:40throughout the world would do much in holding the Empire together.
0:08:42 > 0:08:45The Empire was certainly important to George V,
0:08:45 > 0:08:48I don't think there was any way that you could have had a British
0:08:48 > 0:08:52king or queen in that period for whom the Empire wasn't seen as part
0:08:52 > 0:08:55of almost like the meat and drink of who they were and what they did.
0:08:55 > 0:08:59Having a role within the United Kingdom, but also having this
0:08:59 > 0:09:03global role was very much part of the fabric of the institution.
0:09:03 > 0:09:07It is even said that the deathbed words of George V
0:09:07 > 0:09:09were, "How is the Empire?"
0:09:11 > 0:09:15On the 19th of December 1932, here at Broadcasting House,
0:09:15 > 0:09:18the BBC launched its Empire Service.
0:09:18 > 0:09:22It was introduced by the now knighted Sir John Reith,
0:09:22 > 0:09:25who spoke with brutal honesty.
0:09:25 > 0:09:30'As to programmes, don't expect too much in the early days.
0:09:31 > 0:09:37'The programmes will neither be very interesting, nor very good.'
0:09:37 > 0:09:41What Reith had higher hopes for was the broadcast six days later,
0:09:41 > 0:09:45on Christmas Day, when the King would speak live on the radio to
0:09:45 > 0:09:49his people in Britain and around the world from his home in Sandringham.
0:09:53 > 0:09:56The King had been heard on the wireless making speeches
0:09:56 > 0:10:02on formal occasions 13 times, but never before had a monarch been
0:10:02 > 0:10:06heard to speak personally and, more importantly, from their own home.
0:10:19 > 0:10:22It's worth remembering that listening to the wireless was
0:10:22 > 0:10:27an entirely new pastime for British households and, in that spirit,
0:10:27 > 0:10:31the BBC produced some very useful advice in its yearbook.
0:10:31 > 0:10:34It says to listeners, "Listen as carefully at home as you
0:10:34 > 0:10:36"do in a theatre or concert hall.
0:10:36 > 0:10:38"You can't get the best out of a programme
0:10:38 > 0:10:42"if your mind is wandering or if you are playing bridge or
0:10:42 > 0:10:44"reading, give it your full attention.
0:10:44 > 0:10:46"Try turning out the lights
0:10:46 > 0:10:50"so that your eye is not caught by familiar objects in the room.
0:10:50 > 0:10:52"Your imagination will be twice as vivid."
0:10:52 > 0:10:57And then, my particular favourite, "If you only listen with half
0:10:57 > 0:11:01"an ear, you haven't a quarter of a right to criticise."
0:11:03 > 0:11:07Three o'clock in the afternoon was chosen as the best time to reach
0:11:07 > 0:11:11most of the Empire countries from short-wave transmitters in Britain.
0:11:13 > 0:11:17For the King this would mean broadcasting at 3.30, as all
0:11:17 > 0:11:19the Sandringham clocks were set half an hour
0:11:19 > 0:11:21ahead of Greenwich Mean Time,
0:11:21 > 0:11:25to make the most of daylight for shooting.
0:11:25 > 0:11:26GUNSHOT
0:11:26 > 0:11:29You know, there really was, well, nothing grand about the room
0:11:29 > 0:11:32that was chosen for the Christmas broadcast.
0:11:32 > 0:11:34It was actually the office of the Master Of The Household,
0:11:34 > 0:11:38but, in fact, George V was said to have, well, rather appreciated
0:11:38 > 0:11:41its somewhat limited space from his time aboard ships
0:11:41 > 0:11:43whilst he was serving in the Navy.
0:11:45 > 0:11:49It was suggested that the Empire's poet, Rudyard Kipling, write
0:11:49 > 0:11:53the speech, so relieving George V of further anxiety.
0:11:53 > 0:11:55The King was delighted.
0:11:57 > 0:12:00Contrary to press reports in the week before the broadcast,
0:12:00 > 0:12:03a special golden microphone was not used.
0:12:05 > 0:12:09In fact, the two microphones that were used came from a London cinema
0:12:09 > 0:12:13and were rehoused in Australian walnut to make them more dignified.
0:12:15 > 0:12:19A small printed cue card was placed in front of the microphone
0:12:19 > 0:12:23along with a heavy tablecloth to dampen the sound in case
0:12:23 > 0:12:25the King rustled the script through nerves.
0:12:27 > 0:12:30The King did agree to do some voice tests beforehand.
0:12:30 > 0:12:34He also chose a small table on which the microphones would
0:12:34 > 0:12:38sit, as well as his favourite wicker armchair, but just before the
0:12:38 > 0:12:41actual broadcast, he's said to have sat down a little too heavily and he
0:12:41 > 0:12:45went through the seat of the chair, exclaiming, "God bless my soul."
0:12:49 > 0:12:52As the time for the speech drew near,
0:12:52 > 0:12:56at the control room at Broadcasting House, engineers linked Post Office
0:12:56 > 0:13:00cables from Sandringham to the vast transmitters which would broadcast
0:13:00 > 0:13:04the King's Message live across Britain and onwards to the Empire.
0:13:06 > 0:13:10'British people all the world over are listening for the voice
0:13:10 > 0:13:12'of His Majesty the King.'
0:13:12 > 0:13:17At 3.35, Sandringham time, King George V took a deep breath
0:13:17 > 0:13:22as an announcer introduced the very first Christmas broadcast.
0:13:23 > 0:13:25'His Majesty the King.'
0:13:28 > 0:13:34'Through one of the marvels of modern science,
0:13:34 > 0:13:39'I am enabled this Christmas Day
0:13:39 > 0:13:44'to speak to all my people throughout the Empire.
0:13:45 > 0:13:51'I take it as a good omen that wireless should have reached
0:13:51 > 0:13:56'its present perfection at a time
0:13:56 > 0:14:02'when the Empire has been linked in closer union.'
0:14:02 > 0:14:07People were mesmerised by the King's voice, which one writer
0:14:07 > 0:14:11described as "hoarse" as if roughened by weather.
0:14:11 > 0:14:15The King was even heard to clear his throat during the broadcast.
0:14:15 > 0:14:17'..that our future...
0:14:17 > 0:14:18HE CLEARS HIS THROAT
0:14:18 > 0:14:20'..will lay upon us...'
0:14:20 > 0:14:25The broadcast would last just two-and-a-half minutes.
0:14:25 > 0:14:29'I speak now from my home
0:14:29 > 0:14:34'and from my heart to you all.
0:14:34 > 0:14:39'I wish a happy Christmas, God bless you.'
0:14:40 > 0:14:42The King had actually been very nervous during
0:14:42 > 0:14:45the live broadcast but it had all gone remarkably well.
0:14:45 > 0:14:49The Times newspaper described it as the most notable
0:14:49 > 0:14:51event of Christmastide.
0:14:51 > 0:14:54Some listeners swore they could hear a Sandringham clock
0:14:54 > 0:14:58ticking in the background, whilst the Spectator magazine,
0:14:58 > 0:15:00on hearing the King clearing his throat during the broadcast,
0:15:00 > 0:15:04said, "A king who reads a message into a microphone from
0:15:04 > 0:15:06"a manuscript may be a king,
0:15:06 > 0:15:09"but a king who coughs is a fellow human being."
0:15:11 > 0:15:14The speech was received incredibly well,
0:15:14 > 0:15:19and not just for Kipling's words but also for the King's delivery.
0:15:19 > 0:15:23George was very slow, very gravelly voiced and paced,
0:15:23 > 0:15:27he wasn't trying to be a radio host, he was just like your dad
0:15:27 > 0:15:31by the fireside, talking about the events of the year and I think
0:15:31 > 0:15:37it's no surprise that our present Queen nicknamed him "Grandpa England".
0:15:42 > 0:15:44Duty and tradition were as important to
0:15:44 > 0:15:48Grandpa England as they are to his granddaughter, our present Queen.
0:15:52 > 0:15:56The 1932 broadcast was the first tentative step in connecting
0:15:56 > 0:15:59the monarchy to the people,
0:15:59 > 0:16:04something which today we almost take for granted.
0:16:04 > 0:16:07And yet, even at the parades and the parties,
0:16:07 > 0:16:11the cameras might be closer and the portraits more intimate,
0:16:11 > 0:16:16but we seldom hear the Queen's personal views.
0:16:16 > 0:16:18This is left to the one time in the year
0:16:18 > 0:16:22when she does talk to the people in her own words.
0:16:28 > 0:16:32In 1990, the producer of the Christmas broadcast was
0:16:32 > 0:16:35Sir David Attenborough.
0:16:35 > 0:16:40A monarch in the 21st century has to combine two things.
0:16:40 > 0:16:44It has to combine being a human being,
0:16:44 > 0:16:48but also being something other than a normal human being.
0:16:48 > 0:16:53And why do people turn out in millions to see the Queen?
0:16:53 > 0:16:57Because she isn't as other human beings and yet of course she is.
0:16:57 > 0:16:59And that's the magic.
0:16:59 > 0:17:01- Oh, I see what you mean. - SHE LAUGHS
0:17:01 > 0:17:05- It's for... It's for the radio...- This is for the radio.
0:17:05 > 0:17:07- ..version.- I see. - And a run through of the words.
0:17:07 > 0:17:09Hmm-mm.
0:17:09 > 0:17:13Clothes-wise, does it look all right with the background?
0:17:13 > 0:17:16- Yes, it does.- I mean, jolly lucky, it'd be awful if you said no
0:17:16 > 0:17:19because I'd have to go and find something else!
0:17:19 > 0:17:21THEY ALL LAUGH
0:17:21 > 0:17:23Yes, I mean, it's all right...
0:17:29 > 0:17:32Whenever you're ready, Ma'am.
0:17:32 > 0:17:33Cameraman Philip Bonham-Carter
0:17:33 > 0:17:37has worked on over 30 of the Queen's Christmas messages.
0:17:37 > 0:17:40Generally speaking, the Queen is absolutely terrific
0:17:40 > 0:17:45and no question about it, she is always relaxed.
0:17:45 > 0:17:50She would very, very seldom make any mistakes during the broadcast.
0:17:50 > 0:17:54I mean, quite often we would have more than one take,
0:17:54 > 0:17:56but more often it was from me than her.
0:17:56 > 0:17:58'That is the threat of war in the Middle East.'
0:17:58 > 0:18:01Over the years, the Queen has mastered delivering
0:18:01 > 0:18:05the broadcast, something which initially didn't come easily
0:18:05 > 0:18:08to her father, King George VI.
0:18:11 > 0:18:15It was here, in London's Harley Street, that in 1926,
0:18:15 > 0:18:19Prince Albert, Duke of York, the future King George VI,
0:18:19 > 0:18:24first came to see a speech therapist in an attempt to help him control
0:18:24 > 0:18:28a crippling stammer which had plagued him from a very young age.
0:18:30 > 0:18:34The result of that meeting with Lionel Logue became known to
0:18:34 > 0:18:37a wider audience in the 2010 Oscar-winning film,
0:18:37 > 0:18:38The King's Speech.
0:18:40 > 0:18:45So when did you first realise that there was this great stash
0:18:45 > 0:18:48of unique papers of your grandfather's?
0:18:48 > 0:18:51'A few years ago, Mark Logue stumbled across the letters,
0:18:51 > 0:18:55'diaries and photographs belonging to his grandfather, Lionel Logue,
0:18:55 > 0:18:59'the Australian speech therapist, who would help the future king.'
0:19:01 > 0:19:05So this is my grandfather's consulting room.
0:19:05 > 0:19:08And this is the very room.
0:19:08 > 0:19:12This is it, this is pretty much untouched from when he was here.
0:19:12 > 0:19:14So this is the room that Prince Albert, who would
0:19:14 > 0:19:18go on to become George VI, would come to see your grandfather
0:19:18 > 0:19:21to fix the problem that he thought was unfixable, really.
0:19:21 > 0:19:23Yeah, yeah, this is right.
0:19:23 > 0:19:26The King would come in and there'd be two chairs
0:19:26 > 0:19:29facing each other near the fire and the King referred
0:19:29 > 0:19:33to this area as the most comfortable seat in London.
0:19:33 > 0:19:37Because it was a place where he felt so at home and able to be himself?
0:19:37 > 0:19:38That's right.
0:19:38 > 0:19:40This is your grandfather's handwriting here
0:19:40 > 0:19:42and what is this we're looking at?
0:19:42 > 0:19:44This is his medical appointment card
0:19:44 > 0:19:48so it's titled "His Royal Highness The Duke Of York".
0:19:48 > 0:19:49This obviously starts in 1926.
0:19:49 > 0:19:53The first appointment he made on the back here,
0:19:53 > 0:19:55"1926, October 19th" - that's the interview.
0:19:55 > 0:19:57And then he details progress,
0:19:57 > 0:20:01and what strikes me is how many appointments there were.
0:20:01 > 0:20:03Yeah, after the interview, October 19th,
0:20:03 > 0:20:04he books himself in
0:20:04 > 0:20:09October 20th, and then every single day throughout October, November
0:20:09 > 0:20:14and December, straight through till January 5th the following year.
0:20:14 > 0:20:18I notice right at the bottom of this card, highlighted here in blue
0:20:18 > 0:20:20"1937", which, of course,
0:20:20 > 0:20:23would prove to be an entirely pivotal year.
0:20:27 > 0:20:29The previous year, 1936,
0:20:29 > 0:20:32the year of three kings, had seen the death of his father,
0:20:32 > 0:20:35King George V, and the 10-month reign
0:20:35 > 0:20:38of his elder brother, Edward VIII.
0:20:39 > 0:20:43With Edward's abdication, George VI ascended to the throne
0:20:43 > 0:20:48and, in 1937, like his father before him, the new King faced the daunting
0:20:48 > 0:20:53prospect of the Christmas broadcast from him home at Sandringham.
0:20:53 > 0:20:55And once again, it was Lionel Logue
0:20:55 > 0:20:57that the King would turn to for help.
0:21:00 > 0:21:03My grandfather was invited to Sandringham on Christmas Day
0:21:03 > 0:21:06to help the King through his broadcast.
0:21:06 > 0:21:11The King felt a certain comfort from having
0:21:11 > 0:21:16my grandfather around, not just sort of psychological
0:21:16 > 0:21:19but also the coaching and the training would
0:21:19 > 0:21:21go on right up until the last minute.
0:21:21 > 0:21:28And then he goes on to the point at which it is 2.55 in the afternoon
0:21:28 > 0:21:30and just take me through what he says here.
0:21:30 > 0:21:32"Five minutes to go.
0:21:32 > 0:21:35"The King lights a cigarette and walks to and fro.
0:21:35 > 0:21:39"Woods", who's the BBC engineer, "tries the red light to see that
0:21:39 > 0:21:42"it's working correctly and we synchronise our watches.
0:21:42 > 0:21:46"One minute to go. The King throws his cigarette into the fireplace
0:21:46 > 0:21:49"and stands with his hands behind his back waiting.
0:21:49 > 0:21:53"The red light flicks four times, the King steps up to the microphone,
0:21:53 > 0:21:56"the red light ceases for a moment, then comes on full.
0:21:56 > 0:21:59"The King gives me a little nod, takes a long breath,
0:21:59 > 0:22:02"and begins in his beautifully modulated voice."
0:22:03 > 0:22:10'Many of you will remember the Christmas broadcasts
0:22:10 > 0:22:14'of former years
0:22:14 > 0:22:17'when my father spoke
0:22:17 > 0:22:22'to his people at home
0:22:22 > 0:22:26'and overseas as the revered...
0:22:28 > 0:22:32'..head of a great family.
0:22:33 > 0:22:35'His words...
0:22:36 > 0:22:38'..had brought...
0:22:40 > 0:22:44'..happiness into the homes
0:22:44 > 0:22:51'and into the hearts of listeners all over the world.'
0:22:53 > 0:22:58He says here, "The speech lasts three minutes and 20 seconds and as
0:22:58 > 0:23:02"the red light goes out, I turn to His Majesty and say, 'May I be
0:23:02 > 0:23:04"'the first to congratulate you, sire,
0:23:04 > 0:23:07"'on your first Christmas broadcast.'"
0:23:10 > 0:23:11He says, "He shakes me by the hand
0:23:11 > 0:23:15"and gives that lovely schoolboy grin of his
0:23:15 > 0:23:17"and says, 'Let us go inside.'"
0:23:17 > 0:23:19This is your grandfather,
0:23:19 > 0:23:22a speech therapist from Australia,
0:23:22 > 0:23:25at the centre of a moment of history.
0:23:25 > 0:23:28That must be astonishing to think that he was there
0:23:28 > 0:23:30- in the room at that moment. - No, it was incredible.
0:23:30 > 0:23:37I mean, this piece of writing also describes the whole
0:23:37 > 0:23:41present opening ceremony and having lunch with the Royal Family
0:23:41 > 0:23:45in the most, the inner sanctum of the Royal Family,
0:23:45 > 0:23:47not just sort of at a State banquet,
0:23:47 > 0:23:49but with the family themselves.
0:23:49 > 0:23:52There's a great bit on the last page about the two little princesses,
0:23:52 > 0:23:56as he describes them, of course our Queen and her sister, Princess Margaret.
0:23:56 > 0:23:59Just read me a little bit of what he says goes on between them.
0:23:59 > 0:24:02"What struck me most was the simplicity of the children's
0:24:02 > 0:24:05"presents and the beautiful informality of the whole procedure.
0:24:05 > 0:24:09"The two little princesses and the Duchess of Kent's boy always
0:24:09 > 0:24:12"joined in the fun and I played Ring A Ring o'Roses."
0:24:12 > 0:24:15- He played Ring a Ring... - Yeah, yeah, he played with them
0:24:15 > 0:24:19"..and a race game and disqualified the Duke Of Gloucester
0:24:19 > 0:24:21- "for going outside the flag." - KIRSTY LAUGHS
0:24:21 > 0:24:23He really was very relaxed, wasn't he?
0:24:23 > 0:24:24And he adored the children.
0:24:24 > 0:24:27"As I pass through, Queen Elizabeth..." - of course we know
0:24:27 > 0:24:30as the Queen Mother, "..stops me at the microphone and, putting her hand
0:24:30 > 0:24:35"on my arm said, 'Mr Logue, I do not know that Bertie and myself can ever
0:24:35 > 0:24:38"'thank you enough for what you have done for him,
0:24:38 > 0:24:40"'just look at him now.
0:24:40 > 0:24:45"'I do not think I have ever known him so light-hearted and happy.'"
0:24:45 > 0:24:47Fantastic.
0:24:48 > 0:24:52King George VI was clear that his 1937 Christmas message
0:24:52 > 0:24:57was to be a one-off and would not be repeated.
0:24:57 > 0:25:00Indeed, there was no broadcast the following year.
0:25:00 > 0:25:02AIR RAID SIRENS
0:25:04 > 0:25:09But with the declaration of war in 1939, that Christmas, with
0:25:09 > 0:25:12Logue at his side, the King once again took to the microphone.
0:25:13 > 0:25:17It was his closing words which were to resonate with listeners,
0:25:17 > 0:25:22struggling with uncertainty, just months after the outbreak of war.
0:25:22 > 0:25:30'I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year,
0:25:30 > 0:25:36'"Give me a light that I may tread safely
0:25:36 > 0:25:39'"into the unknown."
0:25:39 > 0:25:41'And he replied,
0:25:41 > 0:25:48'"Go out into the darkness and put your hand
0:25:48 > 0:25:53'"into the hand of God.
0:25:53 > 0:25:57'"That shall be to you better than light
0:25:57 > 0:26:01'"and safer than a known way."'
0:26:01 > 0:26:06The lines of poetry quoted by the King that Christmas caused
0:26:06 > 0:26:09a frenzy of excitement and, within hours, the press were trying
0:26:09 > 0:26:12to establish the identity of the poem's author.
0:26:12 > 0:26:15John Masefield, the poet laureate was consulted,
0:26:15 > 0:26:17but, no, they weren't his words.
0:26:17 > 0:26:19Then, on Boxing Day, at midnight,
0:26:19 > 0:26:22the BBC announced that the mystery had finally been solved.
0:26:22 > 0:26:26The words were those of an elderly academic who, as one paper
0:26:26 > 0:26:30would later exclaim, was "a woman" and, with that, the press
0:26:30 > 0:26:35descended on Crowborough in Sussex, where Miss Minnie Louise Haskins
0:26:35 > 0:26:38was spending up till then a quiet Christmas with her brother.
0:26:38 > 0:26:40- NEWSREEL:- 'In Christmas card weather,
0:26:40 > 0:26:43'Pathe Gazette cameramen meet the authoress of the quotation
0:26:43 > 0:26:45'with which the King ended his Christmas broadcast.
0:26:45 > 0:26:48'Miss Haskins has been made famous by her inspired words.'
0:26:48 > 0:26:52And I said to the main who stood at the gate of the year,
0:26:52 > 0:26:56"Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown."
0:26:56 > 0:26:59And he replied, "Go out into the darkness
0:26:59 > 0:27:02"and put your hand into the hand of God."
0:27:09 > 0:27:13Every Christmas that followed, from the darkest days
0:27:13 > 0:27:15of the war to the first glimmers of light,
0:27:15 > 0:27:20the King spoke of his unswerving faith in the survival of Britain
0:27:20 > 0:27:23and the Commonwealth of nations who were fighting alongside.
0:27:29 > 0:27:31But perhaps the most poignant of all King George VI's
0:27:31 > 0:27:34Christmas broadcasts was the one he made
0:27:34 > 0:27:39here at Buckingham Palace, after the war had ended, in December 1951.
0:27:43 > 0:27:48Three months earlier, King George VI had undergone major surgery.
0:27:48 > 0:27:50As Christmas approached
0:27:50 > 0:27:54so too did the prospect of the King's annual Christmas message.
0:27:58 > 0:28:00I'm just looking now at this letter.
0:28:00 > 0:28:03The King has written it on his personal stationery
0:28:03 > 0:28:05and it is coming up to Christmas.
0:28:05 > 0:28:08What is astonishing is that he's not just taken the time to write
0:28:08 > 0:28:14to your grandfather personally, he's written him a six-page letter
0:28:14 > 0:28:18and not only that, it is a very intimate
0:28:18 > 0:28:20and, indeed, poignant letter.
0:28:20 > 0:28:24So it starts with, "My dear Logue, thank you so much for sending me
0:28:24 > 0:28:28"the books by my birthday, which are most acceptable.
0:28:28 > 0:28:30"As for myself, I've spent a wretched year, culminating
0:28:30 > 0:28:34"in that very severe operation from which I seem to be making
0:28:34 > 0:28:36"a remarkable recovery.
0:28:36 > 0:28:39"The voice is getting stronger all the time but is husky
0:28:39 > 0:28:42"and, to me, it doesn't sound, to me, my voice.
0:28:42 > 0:28:44"My Christmas broadcast will probably be recorded
0:28:44 > 0:28:48"before I go to Sandringham. The effort may be too great on the day
0:28:48 > 0:28:50"and my voice varies so.
0:28:50 > 0:28:52"I am yours, most sincerely, George R."
0:28:54 > 0:28:57That's astonishing, isn't it?
0:28:57 > 0:28:59'As I speak to you today,
0:28:59 > 0:29:06'I would like to wish you, wherever you may be, a happy Christmas.
0:29:06 > 0:29:12'I myself have every cause for deeper thankfulness,
0:29:12 > 0:29:18'for not only by the grace of God and through the faithful skill,
0:29:18 > 0:29:25'my doctors, surgeons and nurses, have I come through my illness,
0:29:25 > 0:29:31'but I have learnt once again that it is in bad times that we value
0:29:31 > 0:29:36'most highly the support and sympathy of our friends.'
0:29:37 > 0:29:40What is so remarkable about the broadcast is that it was
0:29:40 > 0:29:43recorded by the King phrase by phrase over
0:29:43 > 0:29:45the course of several hours at Buckingham Palace.
0:29:45 > 0:29:48It was then taken back to the BBC
0:29:48 > 0:29:50and edited together for Christmas Day.
0:29:50 > 0:29:54It was the only one of the King's 14 Christmas messages
0:29:54 > 0:29:56which was not broadcast live.
0:29:56 > 0:29:59SONG: Funeral March by Chopin
0:30:04 > 0:30:09Six weeks later, King George VI passed away in his sleep at Sandringham,
0:30:09 > 0:30:14the home from where he had broadcast his first Christmas message in 1937.
0:30:17 > 0:30:20The King was just 56 years old.
0:30:22 > 0:30:26King George VI was laid to rest here at Windsor,
0:30:26 > 0:30:29the place from which he had secretly broadcast
0:30:29 > 0:30:32many of his Christmas messages during the Second World War.
0:30:36 > 0:30:40Attached to the gates of the chapel where George VI is buried,
0:30:40 > 0:30:43is the poem by Minnie Haskins,
0:30:43 > 0:30:46made famous by the King in his inspirational Christmas message
0:30:46 > 0:30:50a few months after the outbreak of the Second World War.
0:30:53 > 0:30:55But the story doesn't end there.
0:30:57 > 0:31:00I wonder how many of the mourners present at the funeral
0:31:00 > 0:31:01of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother,
0:31:01 > 0:31:06some 50 years after the death of her husband, King George VI,
0:31:06 > 0:31:09would have realised the significance of that Minnie Haskins poem,
0:31:09 > 0:31:13printed without any explanation on the final page
0:31:13 > 0:31:14of the order of service.
0:31:14 > 0:31:18It began, "I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year,
0:31:18 > 0:31:22"give me a light that I might tread safely into the unknown."
0:31:27 > 0:31:31His Christian faith was as important to King George VI as it is
0:31:31 > 0:31:36to the Queen, who was crowned here, at Westminster Abbey, in June 1953.
0:31:40 > 0:31:43The Christmas before her coronation,
0:31:43 > 0:31:47the Queen ask that people should pray for her that day.
0:31:47 > 0:31:49'To pray that God may give me wisdom
0:31:49 > 0:31:55'and strength to carry out the solemn promises I shall be making
0:31:55 > 0:31:59'and that I may faithfully serve Him
0:31:59 > 0:32:02'and you all the days of my life.'
0:32:02 > 0:32:06MUSIC: National Anthem - God Save The Queen
0:32:12 > 0:32:17She speaks, in her Christmas broadcast, very clearly
0:32:17 > 0:32:19and very definitely often
0:32:19 > 0:32:22about the importance of Christian faith.
0:32:22 > 0:32:27Not just about the Christmas story, but about the guiding light
0:32:27 > 0:32:30that her Christian faith gives her.
0:32:30 > 0:32:35For me, the life of Jesus Christ, the Prince Of Peace, whose birth
0:32:35 > 0:32:37we celebrate today,
0:32:37 > 0:32:40is an inspiration and an anchor in my life.
0:32:42 > 0:32:45A role model of reconciliation and forgiveness,
0:32:45 > 0:32:50he stretched out his hands in love, acceptance and healing.
0:32:50 > 0:32:52There are times when she's very, very clear and explicit.
0:32:52 > 0:32:57During 2000 for example, she said - not quite in these
0:32:57 > 0:33:00terms, of course, - but, you know, "I'm going to speak rather
0:33:00 > 0:33:03"more personally and rather more clearly about my faith
0:33:03 > 0:33:07"in the 2,000th anniversary of our Lord's birth."
0:33:07 > 0:33:12To many of us, our beliefs are of fundamental importance.
0:33:12 > 0:33:16For me, the teachings of Christ, and my own personal accountability
0:33:16 > 0:33:21before God, provide a framework in which I try to lead my life.
0:33:23 > 0:33:26I, like so many of you, have drawn great comfort in difficult
0:33:26 > 0:33:30times from Christ's words and example.
0:33:30 > 0:33:35And she's spoken about how her faith directs her life,
0:33:35 > 0:33:40that it's the light for her, and I believe that's completely true,
0:33:40 > 0:33:42why would you say it if it weren't?
0:33:45 > 0:33:47Along with her faith,
0:33:47 > 0:33:50the Commonwealth has been a recurring theme in the Christmas
0:33:50 > 0:33:53broadcast, not least because the Queen is head of
0:33:53 > 0:33:57an organisation representing nearly a third of the world's population.
0:34:00 > 0:34:02'From the window of far away England,
0:34:02 > 0:34:04'she flew in over the blue Caribbean.'
0:34:09 > 0:34:13Five months after her coronation, the Queen embarked on her first
0:34:13 > 0:34:16tour of the Commonwealth, accompanied by Prince Philip.
0:34:23 > 0:34:26I think it's immediately apparent to the Queen,
0:34:26 > 0:34:28when she ascends to the throne,
0:34:28 > 0:34:32that she has a new role, so when she begins the tour,
0:34:32 > 0:34:34after her coronation,
0:34:34 > 0:34:37for the first time, this is a British monarch
0:34:37 > 0:34:41going overseas, not as the symbol of authority and rule, but almost as
0:34:41 > 0:34:46someone asking that the countries of a newly-emerging, independent
0:34:46 > 0:34:47Commonwealth remain together.
0:34:47 > 0:34:52And I think that's a very, very significant change in the nature
0:34:52 > 0:34:56of the relationship between the Queen and the Empire
0:34:56 > 0:35:00that is transforming into the new Commonwealth.
0:35:00 > 0:35:04Out of the old Empire sprang the Commonwealth family of nations
0:35:04 > 0:35:06we know today
0:35:06 > 0:35:10and that, too, has grown and changed over the years.
0:35:10 > 0:35:15In October, 51 representatives of Commonwealth governments
0:35:15 > 0:35:20met in Edinburgh, very much in the spirit of a family gathering.
0:35:20 > 0:35:24We enjoyed it very much.
0:35:24 > 0:35:26'The Commonwealth is hugely important for the Queen
0:35:26 > 0:35:29'and I think it's worth remembering that when, for example,'
0:35:29 > 0:35:33in the Queen's broadcast, the Commonwealth is showcased
0:35:33 > 0:35:36it's because she's their Queen too, she's not just
0:35:36 > 0:35:40a Queen of the people in the British Isles, but she is also Queen
0:35:40 > 0:35:43of over a dozen countries overseas and of course she now has the
0:35:43 > 0:35:49role of Head of the Commonwealth, so she's integrally linked to the
0:35:49 > 0:35:52Commonwealth, it's, I think, very much in the DNA of her reign.
0:36:01 > 0:36:06In 1957, exactly 25 years after her grandfather had broadcast
0:36:06 > 0:36:10the first Christmas Message, from here at Sandringham,
0:36:10 > 0:36:13the Queen allowed cameras into the house.
0:36:13 > 0:36:16It was going to be televised, and just to add to the pressure,
0:36:16 > 0:36:20like the radio broadcast before, it too would be live.
0:36:23 > 0:36:26The move from radio to television required a much bigger
0:36:26 > 0:36:28operation than in the past
0:36:28 > 0:36:33and would be broadcast simultaneously on the BBC and ITV.
0:36:34 > 0:36:39It was one thing to visit the TV studios and see the cameras,
0:36:39 > 0:36:41but quite another to perform in front of them
0:36:41 > 0:36:45and the prospect filled the Queen with dread.
0:36:52 > 0:36:54She's essentially a very shy person
0:36:54 > 0:36:59so sort of having to speak to camera didn't come naturally to her,
0:36:59 > 0:37:01but of course she had to do it all the time,
0:37:01 > 0:37:05but the Christmas speech was her really big sort of hurdle
0:37:05 > 0:37:08when that started being televised.
0:37:09 > 0:37:13This would not, in fact, be the first time the Queen had made
0:37:13 > 0:37:15a live TV broadcast.
0:37:15 > 0:37:20That July, in Ottawa, the Queen had spoken live to the Canadian people,
0:37:20 > 0:37:23some of it in French.
0:37:23 > 0:37:27Que vous soyez de langue francaise ou anglais,
0:37:27 > 0:37:30que vous soyez nes en ce merveilleux pays,
0:37:30 > 0:37:34ou encore venus de pays etranger,
0:37:34 > 0:37:39vous faites tous partie d'une meme grande famille.
0:37:39 > 0:37:42Preparations for the broadcast, which would come from here,
0:37:42 > 0:37:46the Long Library, had begun in March, nine months earlier.
0:37:46 > 0:37:49The Queen chose to broadcast from this,
0:37:49 > 0:37:52the same desk and indeed the same chair, as her father
0:37:52 > 0:37:55and grandfather before her, to maintain a sense of continuity.
0:37:55 > 0:37:57Not everything was the same, though.
0:37:57 > 0:38:01The Sandringham clocks had, by now, been moved back half an hour,
0:38:01 > 0:38:04falling in line with the time used by the rest of the country.
0:38:10 > 0:38:14Much interest had been shown during the 1950s
0:38:14 > 0:38:16in the young Queen's dress sense.
0:38:21 > 0:38:25So there was eager anticipation as to just what
0:38:25 > 0:38:29she would wear for her first televised Christmas broadcast.
0:38:29 > 0:38:32In the end, the Queen chose something that she had worn
0:38:32 > 0:38:34a few months earlier.
0:38:34 > 0:38:38Well, this is a dress that was worn by the Queen in Ottawa
0:38:38 > 0:38:43as Queen of Canada. I believe it was for an early evening reception
0:38:43 > 0:38:47and it's a gold brocade dress, slightly metallic
0:38:47 > 0:38:52sheen in the fabric, designed for her by Hardy Amies.
0:38:54 > 0:38:56The actual style, was it a style of the time?
0:38:56 > 0:38:58What do you make of it?
0:38:58 > 0:38:59Yes, it was a style of the time
0:38:59 > 0:39:03but with a twist, for example, the bow in the bodice
0:39:03 > 0:39:06is something that Hardy Amies designed for her
0:39:06 > 0:39:09and wouldn't have been worn by any of his other clients.
0:39:09 > 0:39:14As sovereign she wanted clothes that obviously showed the best of
0:39:14 > 0:39:18what British design could achieve, but also they had to give her
0:39:18 > 0:39:24a dignity and an elegance in her role as Queen of several countries.
0:39:28 > 0:39:32The temporary TV studio constructed in the Long Library
0:39:32 > 0:39:35at Sandringham provided the Queen's children, Princess Anne
0:39:35 > 0:39:38and Prince Charles, with a somewhat different
0:39:38 > 0:39:40kind of playground from the one they were used to.
0:39:44 > 0:39:47Rehearsals for the broadcast began in October,
0:39:47 > 0:39:52not here but at Buckingham Palace, where the team took the desk
0:39:52 > 0:39:55and even the curtains from Sandringham to simulate conditions
0:39:55 > 0:39:57and put the Queen at ease.
0:39:57 > 0:40:00Rehearsals continued until the 23rd of December, when it was
0:40:00 > 0:40:04decided that to carry on would only add to the Queen's nerves.
0:40:04 > 0:40:06But there was one person,
0:40:06 > 0:40:10more than any other, who helped the Queen that Christmas.
0:40:10 > 0:40:13Prince Philip has been the backbone of this speech
0:40:13 > 0:40:16if you like because he's always helped the Queen,
0:40:16 > 0:40:22he was far more savvy with the media and with cameras
0:40:22 > 0:40:26and with broadcasting than the Queen was at the beginning of her reign.
0:40:31 > 0:40:36In 1956, the Duke Of Edinburgh had even introduced the Christmas
0:40:36 > 0:40:39radio broadcast, live from the Royal Yacht Britannia in the Southern
0:40:39 > 0:40:45Ocean, thousands of miles away from the Queen and his family in Norfolk.
0:41:05 > 0:41:07Christmas was anything but usual
0:41:07 > 0:41:12the following year at Sandringham as, with Prince Philip by her side,
0:41:12 > 0:41:16the Queen prepared for her first televised Christmas broadcast.
0:41:16 > 0:41:20The Queen came in... and everything was set up -
0:41:20 > 0:41:23the camera was there, the cameramen, everything was running,
0:41:23 > 0:41:27and, as soon as she sort of saw the autocue, she froze.
0:41:27 > 0:41:29BELLS CHIME
0:41:29 > 0:41:31EXCITED VOICES
0:41:33 > 0:41:37'Eventually Prince Philip came to the rescue'
0:41:37 > 0:41:44and on the day he stood behind one of the spare cameras and
0:41:44 > 0:41:46he made the Queen laugh.
0:41:46 > 0:41:49And as she was about to go on air
0:41:49 > 0:41:51he said something funny and she relaxed
0:41:51 > 0:41:55and delivered the speech perfectly.
0:41:55 > 0:41:56Happy Christmas.
0:41:58 > 0:42:0225 years ago, my grandfather broadcast the first
0:42:02 > 0:42:05of these Christmas messages.
0:42:05 > 0:42:09Today is another landmark because television has made it
0:42:09 > 0:42:15possible for many of you to see me in your homes on Christmas Day.
0:42:15 > 0:42:17People really felt she was coming into their home
0:42:17 > 0:42:19when they saw the speech televised.
0:42:19 > 0:42:23My own family often gather round to watch television...
0:42:23 > 0:42:28Back then, you had to watch it probably in the one room that
0:42:28 > 0:42:31had a television and a lot of people would sit round it and stand
0:42:31 > 0:42:37for the National Anthem and it was a big part of Christmas Day.
0:42:37 > 0:42:40At the time, it was quite extraordinary seeing the Queen
0:42:40 > 0:42:45speak, surrounded by Christmas cards and photos of her children,
0:42:45 > 0:42:49rather than simply hearing her words, as had happened in the past.
0:42:49 > 0:42:52But now, at least for a few minutes,
0:42:52 > 0:42:55I welcome you to the peace of my own home.
0:42:55 > 0:42:58That Christmas, the Queen was watched
0:42:58 > 0:43:02by 16-and-a-half million people, the highest viewing figures
0:43:02 > 0:43:06for any TV broadcast since the coronation, four years earlier.
0:43:08 > 0:43:14And so I wish you all, young and old, wherever you may be,
0:43:14 > 0:43:19all the fun and enjoyment and the peace of a very happy Christmas.
0:43:23 > 0:43:27The live television broadcast was deemed a great success
0:43:27 > 0:43:30although ongoing strange atmospheric conditions meant that
0:43:30 > 0:43:33that afternoon some viewers found the Queen's words
0:43:33 > 0:43:37interrupted by the voices of American cops talking
0:43:37 > 0:43:41on police radio networks somewhere on the other side of the Atlantic.
0:43:41 > 0:43:44One viewer even heard an American policeman announce,
0:43:44 > 0:43:47"Joe, I'm going to grab a quick coffee."
0:43:47 > 0:43:51Then the sound crackled and the Queen's voice was back again.
0:43:55 > 0:44:00The success of the broadcast meant that there was no going back and
0:44:00 > 0:44:04the following Christmas the Queen was again live from Sandringham.
0:44:07 > 0:44:12And having seen the monarch, the public now wanted more.
0:44:12 > 0:44:15Some of you have written to say that you
0:44:15 > 0:44:20would like to see our children on television this afternoon.
0:44:20 > 0:44:25We value your interest in them and I can assure you that we have
0:44:25 > 0:44:29thought about this a great deal before deciding against it.
0:44:30 > 0:44:33We would like our son and daughter to grow up
0:44:33 > 0:44:38as normally as possible so that they will be able to serve you and
0:44:38 > 0:44:44the Commonwealth faithfully and well when they are old enough to do so.
0:44:44 > 0:44:48However, by the mid '60s, the Royals had relented and their growing
0:44:48 > 0:44:53family increasingly began to make appearances in the festive message.
0:44:56 > 0:45:00In October this year, I took my son and daughter
0:45:00 > 0:45:03with me to the opening of Parliament at Westminster.
0:45:05 > 0:45:07- Oh, I see. - It's my grandfather.- Yeah.
0:45:07 > 0:45:10King George V, and this was the first time he went to the...
0:45:10 > 0:45:12FA Cup Final.
0:45:12 > 0:45:15And that year was the year I was born.
0:45:16 > 0:45:20By 1984, the Queen and her extended family were in full
0:45:20 > 0:45:24and relaxed view as they gathered here, in the Green Drawing Room
0:45:24 > 0:45:26at Windsor, for the christening of Prince Harry.
0:45:33 > 0:45:35Look! Zara...
0:45:35 > 0:45:38Zara! Go and get Zara.
0:45:38 > 0:45:40- BABY CRIES Zara!- Look!
0:45:40 > 0:45:44When the children are included in the visuals of
0:45:44 > 0:45:46the Christmas speech it's always incredibly popular.
0:45:46 > 0:45:50I remember William, I think, and Zara sort of running round
0:45:50 > 0:45:53the robes of the Archbishop of Canterbury.
0:45:53 > 0:45:57There were the corgis and there was the Queen chatting.
0:45:57 > 0:46:00I think she was talking about how they named puppies.
0:46:00 > 0:46:03- It's called Dash.- Dash!
0:46:03 > 0:46:07Dash, and you know it's a word you use when you're cross. "Dash!"
0:46:07 > 0:46:10And it comes out frightfully well as a dog's name, you see.
0:46:12 > 0:46:17Until the early '60s, the Christmas message was always live,
0:46:17 > 0:46:19which put a considerable strain on the monarch.
0:46:19 > 0:46:22Indeed, George V had complained in 1932
0:46:22 > 0:46:25that it had "quite ruined" his Christmas.
0:46:25 > 0:46:28Pre-recording it a few days before Christmas in different
0:46:28 > 0:46:32locations, like here at Buckingham Palace, gave producers
0:46:32 > 0:46:35like Sir David Attenborough the opportunity to be
0:46:35 > 0:46:37just a bit more adventurous.
0:46:37 > 0:46:40CAROL SINGERS: The Holly And The Ivy
0:46:40 > 0:46:43Every year this Christmas party is held for the children
0:46:43 > 0:46:46of the people living in the Mews at Buckingham Palace.
0:46:48 > 0:46:50I thought that it was...
0:46:50 > 0:46:53Just to vary from sitting at a desk,
0:46:53 > 0:46:58couldn't we find an occasion on which the Queen was being
0:46:58 > 0:47:04very queenly and regal and royal and yet, at the time, very human?
0:47:05 > 0:47:08There was an event just before Christmas
0:47:08 > 0:47:13when the Queen, by custom, holds a children's party
0:47:13 > 0:47:16and that year it was being held in the Royal Stables.
0:47:16 > 0:47:17And I thought, "That's great."
0:47:17 > 0:47:20You know, a stable, Christmas, one thing and another.
0:47:20 > 0:47:23These are some of the horses that were drawing
0:47:23 > 0:47:27the carriages at the time of the wedding in the summer.
0:47:27 > 0:47:30- Have you been to one of these parties before?- Yes.
0:47:30 > 0:47:34Is this the first time you've been, is it?
0:47:34 > 0:47:36I'll get bitten in a minute!
0:47:36 > 0:47:40'Because it was a stables, there were horses in the background
0:47:40 > 0:47:44'and the Queen came down and delivered her speech'
0:47:44 > 0:47:48to, of course, a teleprompter, but absolutely immaculately
0:47:48 > 0:47:51and perfectly and not a mistake at all, you see.
0:47:51 > 0:47:53For the children, the party and the meeting with
0:47:53 > 0:47:58Father Christmas are perhaps the most exciting part of the evening,
0:47:58 > 0:48:01but I hope that a walk through the stables
0:48:01 > 0:48:05also helps to bring the traditional Christmas story alive for them.
0:48:05 > 0:48:10And I was... It was the first time I'd done it and was saying,
0:48:10 > 0:48:12"Thank you so much, wonderful..."
0:48:12 > 0:48:13All that.
0:48:13 > 0:48:17And the cameraman plucked my sleeve and said, "No, go again."
0:48:17 > 0:48:18I said, "What?"
0:48:18 > 0:48:20"No, no, go again."
0:48:20 > 0:48:22I couldn't think what he was talking about.
0:48:22 > 0:48:25So, you know, "wonderful," and he said, "Go again!"
0:48:25 > 0:48:27So I thought I'd better take notice so I said,
0:48:27 > 0:48:30"I'm awfully sorry, there's just been a slight technical problem.
0:48:30 > 0:48:32"Could we do it again?"
0:48:32 > 0:48:36And the Queen, professional that she is, said, "Very well," and went
0:48:36 > 0:48:37and did it again.
0:48:37 > 0:48:40And as she went around I said to the cameraman,
0:48:40 > 0:48:41"What on earth?!
0:48:41 > 0:48:43"I mean, what, did you leave the lens cap on for heaven's sake?!
0:48:43 > 0:48:46"What is the matter?" and he said, "Well, there was
0:48:46 > 0:48:49"one of these horses that was immediately behind the Queen in the
0:48:49 > 0:48:53"stables and just as she started, it got that itch on the lips that
0:48:53 > 0:48:56"horses get and so it was going like this, you see."
0:48:56 > 0:49:00And he said it looked as though the horse was a ventriloquist
0:49:00 > 0:49:01or something, you see!
0:49:08 > 0:49:13As the productions became more ambitious, so too did the locations.
0:49:13 > 0:49:17In 1989, the Queen surprised an audience by delivering
0:49:17 > 0:49:20her Christmas message live on stage.
0:49:21 > 0:49:25I usually make my Christmas broadcast to
0:49:25 > 0:49:28the Commonwealth from Windsor or Buckingham Palace.
0:49:29 > 0:49:35This year, I thought I would use the presence of 2,000 children at this
0:49:35 > 0:49:40occasion organised by the Save The Children Fund in the Albert Hall.
0:49:42 > 0:49:45Those of you present are the immediate audience
0:49:45 > 0:49:50for my broadcast, but I'm also speaking by radio
0:49:50 > 0:49:54and television to people throughout the world.
0:50:01 > 0:50:06Three years later, in 1992, the Queen and her Christmas message
0:50:06 > 0:50:10returned once again to the peace of rural Norfolk,
0:50:10 > 0:50:12after a break of over three decades.
0:50:12 > 0:50:16The message had come full circle.
0:50:16 > 0:50:20We did a link within the script to King George VI
0:50:20 > 0:50:22and his broadcast from Sandringham,
0:50:22 > 0:50:25and therefore it seemed quite nice for the Queen to walk
0:50:25 > 0:50:28into the room and to look at pictures of her late father
0:50:28 > 0:50:32and I think the Queen was quite pleased to be doing something
0:50:32 > 0:50:34rather than just sitting.
0:50:34 > 0:50:35My great grandfather,
0:50:35 > 0:50:40King Edward VII, made Sandringham his country home in 1862
0:50:40 > 0:50:47and it was from this house that my grandfather, King George V,
0:50:47 > 0:50:52and my father, used to speak over the radio, originally to the Empire
0:50:52 > 0:50:58and then to the Commonwealth, on Christmas Day, all those years ago.
0:50:58 > 0:51:02It was from here that I made my first Christmas broadcast
0:51:02 > 0:51:0340 years ago.
0:51:04 > 0:51:08The Queen is extremely good at trying to put
0:51:08 > 0:51:12those around her at ease, but nevertheless, you do realise
0:51:12 > 0:51:15that you basically are asking her to do things
0:51:15 > 0:51:19and you're stopping her if perhaps the recording isn't going properly.
0:51:19 > 0:51:22So it is a unique situation, actually,
0:51:22 > 0:51:27it's quite difficult to explain in some ways.
0:51:27 > 0:51:30I was particularly nervous one year because I was wearing my best
0:51:30 > 0:51:35suit and realised while kneeling in front of the Queen that the zip
0:51:35 > 0:51:40of my trousers had burst open and failed, so I had to kneel
0:51:40 > 0:51:45in a very strange sideways position until the end of that recording.
0:51:45 > 0:51:48And then, in fact, during the lunch break,
0:51:48 > 0:51:50I was sewn back into my trousers.
0:51:53 > 0:51:56But the 1992 Sandringham broadcast would make
0:51:56 > 0:52:00the headlines for a very different reason that year.
0:52:00 > 0:52:02'The One O'Clock News from the BBC.'
0:52:04 > 0:52:05Good afternoon.
0:52:05 > 0:52:07Buckingham Palace has said the Sun's advance
0:52:07 > 0:52:11publication of the Queen's Christmas Message was very regrettable.
0:52:11 > 0:52:14Today's edition contains what it says is the full text
0:52:14 > 0:52:18of the broadcast, which is normally kept secret until transmission.
0:52:20 > 0:52:24However, this was not the first time the content of the broadcast
0:52:24 > 0:52:25had leaked out.
0:52:25 > 0:52:28Five years earlier, in 1987,
0:52:28 > 0:52:32it was the BBC itself that was in the spotlight.
0:52:32 > 0:52:37Quite often the Christmas broadcasts are, by their very nature,
0:52:37 > 0:52:40full of generalities and pleasantries, nothing wrong
0:52:40 > 0:52:47with that, but in 1987, I think a different tone was taken.
0:52:47 > 0:52:52On the 8th of November, there'd been a bomb outrage
0:52:52 > 0:52:58in Enniskillen in Northern Ireland at the Remembrance Sunday service
0:52:58 > 0:53:03at the war memorial and 11 people had been killed.
0:53:03 > 0:53:05And the country
0:53:05 > 0:53:08and, I think, the world was very much moved
0:53:08 > 0:53:10by the account by a man called Gordon Wilson
0:53:10 > 0:53:12who'd been buried in the rubble with his daughter,
0:53:12 > 0:53:14Marie, who was a nurse.
0:53:14 > 0:53:19And he described how she passed away as he was holding her hand
0:53:19 > 0:53:22and the Queen made reference to this and I thought
0:53:22 > 0:53:28she made a very telling point about it and I found it very moving.
0:53:28 > 0:53:33Mr Gordon Wilson, whose daughter, Marie, lost her life
0:53:33 > 0:53:38in the horrifying explosion at Enniskillen on Remembrance Sunday,
0:53:38 > 0:53:42impressed the whole world by the depth of his forgiveness.
0:53:42 > 0:53:47There was a correspondents' lunch, I was asked by someone
0:53:47 > 0:53:52if I'd seen the Christmas broadcast. I said I had, the speech was
0:53:52 > 0:53:55embargoed, I didn't think there was any harm in talking about it.
0:53:55 > 0:53:58After the lunch, a colleague rang me up and said that
0:53:58 > 0:54:01one of the people who'd been at the lunch had gone back to
0:54:01 > 0:54:06his office and was writing up what I said as a front page story for his
0:54:06 > 0:54:10tabloid newspaper and all the other journalists were following suit.
0:54:10 > 0:54:14All of us will echo their prayer that out of the personal
0:54:14 > 0:54:17tragedies of Enniskillen may come
0:54:17 > 0:54:19a reconciliation between the communities.
0:54:21 > 0:54:25Tabloid newspapers can make a front page headline out of one word.
0:54:25 > 0:54:32It was to my profound and everlasting regret that they did.
0:54:32 > 0:54:33I had no hesitation,
0:54:33 > 0:54:38when I found out what was going to happen, to offer my resignation.
0:54:41 > 0:54:45The tabloid press imagined Michael Cole's fate in an earlier time.
0:54:47 > 0:54:51But the Palace said nothing and Cole survived,
0:54:51 > 0:54:53albeit in a different role.
0:55:00 > 0:55:04We all felt the shock and sorrow of Diana's death.
0:55:04 > 0:55:08Thousands upon thousands of you expressed your grief most
0:55:08 > 0:55:12poignantly in the wonderful flowers and messages left in tribute to her.
0:55:12 > 0:55:14Thank you so much, thanks.
0:55:14 > 0:55:17That was a great comfort to all those close to her.
0:55:21 > 0:55:25At times, in her broadcast, the Queen has confronted events
0:55:25 > 0:55:29of a deeply personal nature for her and her family.
0:55:29 > 0:55:34None more so than the tragic death of Princess Diana in 1997,
0:55:34 > 0:55:37when the Queen also acknowledged
0:55:37 > 0:55:41the affect it had on the nation as well as those further afield.
0:55:41 > 0:55:43MUSIC: Song Of Athene by John Tavener
0:55:52 > 0:55:54Over the decades, the Christmas broadcast has
0:55:54 > 0:55:59acted as a chronicle of personal, national and global events
0:55:59 > 0:56:03which have affected the Queen as well as her audience.
0:56:07 > 0:56:12At Christmas, we feel very fortunate to have our family around us.
0:56:16 > 0:56:20The Queen continues to share the intimate moments of her own family
0:56:20 > 0:56:24life, along with those of the bigger family of the Commonwealth, for
0:56:24 > 0:56:29which she remains the figurehead, as well as the Armed Forces.
0:56:29 > 0:56:33We are forever grateful to all those who put themselves
0:56:33 > 0:56:36at risk to keep us safe.
0:56:36 > 0:56:39The Royal Christmas Message has been a traditional
0:56:39 > 0:56:44part of the festive season stretching back over 80 years.
0:56:44 > 0:56:47Christmas is about tradition - the trees, the cards,
0:56:47 > 0:56:50everything else, and this is part of it.
0:56:50 > 0:56:55Today is another landmark because television has made it possible...
0:56:55 > 0:56:57People still like the idea that the Queen
0:56:57 > 0:57:02comes on television at three o'clock and it's unchanging,
0:57:02 > 0:57:05it's above politics, it's part of Christmas.
0:57:06 > 0:57:10Still the most watched programme on Christmas Day,
0:57:10 > 0:57:14in 3D, on television, and online,
0:57:14 > 0:57:19it's come a long way from the radio where it first started.
0:57:19 > 0:57:24'I wish a happy Christmas, God bless you.'
0:57:24 > 0:57:30'I wish you, from my heart, a happy Christmas.
0:57:30 > 0:57:33A very happy Christmas to you all.