The Royal Year Review

My lords and members of the House of Commons... A milestone year for the

Queen. Incepta, she became Britain's's longest-reigning

monarch. The Windsor dynasty expanded with the birth of a new

Princess. Prince Charles followed in his mother's footsteps, expanding --

extending a royal hand of friendship in Ireland. And the two princes were

keen to show off their DIY skills, all in a good cause.

September the 9th, and on board the train travelling through the

Scottish Borders, a record-breaking Queen. She hadn't wanted a farce,

but this was a significant day. Now the Princess Elizabeth we knew and

loved returns amongst us as a Queen... In 1952, aged just 25,

Elizabeth returned to the United Kingdom, having been in Kenya when

her father died. She was met by Winston Churchill, the first of 12

prime ministers who served her. In the years since, the Queen has

become the most travelled Moloch in history. And in Britain, she has

welcomed countless world leaders over the years. Prime Minister 's

have come and gone, celebrities have come and gone, life has changed, but

she and the monarchy have been an absolute constant. The monarchy

remains an institution supported by the majority of British people. It's

continued popularity down in no small part to her. She is one of the

world's most recognised faces, but has never given an interview. Her

reign has been devoted to avoiding publicity, avoiding controversy, at

least in public. She has made it an absolute rule to say nothing about

anything. In the Scottish Borders, the Queen did, albeit briefly,

reflect on her years on the throne. Inevitably, a long life and passed

by many milestones. My own is no exception, but I thank you all and

the many others at home and overseas fee or touching messages and great

kindness. And then it was back to Balmoral, and business as usual.

This assuming Street in West London became very familiar to royal fans

and correspondence the world over, as the UK in early May braced itself

for an early election, all eyes here were on that door, because in the

private Lindo Wing of St Mary's Hospital, a princess would be born.

The Duchess of Cambridge sheer's reckons he was closely watched

around the globe. In March, she was invited to visit the set of one of

her favourite shows, Downton Abbey. The final weeks of her pregnancy

were spent privately. With little clue as to the actual due date, the

hardiest had camped out for up to two weeks outside St Mary's

Hospital. Finally, on the 2nd of May... I think we are hearing some

news here. It's a girl! Oh my goodness! The Duchess of Cambridge

has safely delivered a daughter at 840 M -- 8:40am this morning. That

is from Kensington Palace. Among the first to meet his new sister, and

unsurprisingly a little shy of the waiting crowds, was Prince George.

In Peckham behaved in front of the cameras, and almost stealing the

show. The age difference between the two Royals is just shy of two years.

Less than 12 hours after the birth... The picture that everybody

outside was waiting for. The public would not know her name for another

two days. Her Royal Highness, Charlotte Elizabeth Diana of

Cambridge. Her name reflects both the Windsor and Middleton families.

Charlotte is being the female version of her grandfather, Charles,

but also her aunt Pippa's middle name. Elizabeth and Diana were a

tribute to the Queen and William's late mother. Two months later, and

by then, the family had moved to Norfolk. Princess Charlotte's

christening was a second opportunity for the public to catch a glimpse of

the new Princess. She was pushed by her mother in a pram that had once

been used by the Queen. George, almost two years old by then, once

again threatened to upstage his little sister, at one point making

his escape, but not for long. It has been fantastic. She has been a

little joy of heaven, but it is more responsibility looking after two

little ones, especially when George is around. He is a little monkey.

But it is fantastic having the family around. Catherine has been

doing an excellent job as a mother. Prince William was speaking as his

first day in a new job in the east Anglian Air Ambulance. This is now

his primary job. His royal duties take second place at a moment. At

some point there is going to be a lot of pressure and responsibility

from the other side of my life. At the moment I am juggling the two,

and a young family, and I am loving the challenge. Down the line,

inevitably, it will become more difficult for me to do that.

Interspersed with the glitz that goes along with being a member of

the Royal Family, William, Kate and Harry have spent the year furthering

the cause as they wish to champion. For Kate, top of the agenda this

year has been children's mental health, and a charity supporting

young people was where she chose to make her first engagement after the

birth of Princess Charlotte. In November, she spoke publicly on the

issue. I often get asked why I spend time highlighting the mental health

of children. I imagine my answer might be very similar to many of

yours. I know that I was lucky. My parents and teachers provided me

with a one the full and secure childhood. I always knew I was

loved, valued and listened to. But of course, many children are not so

lucky. After ten years' service, Harry left the army, but continued

his military connections. In October, he received some

high-profile backing for the Invictus Games, a tournament for

injured and six service men and women to be held in Orlando next

year, following on from London's successful event in 2014. Returning

to the UK, I shared the flight home with three critically injured

British soldiers, all in an juiced comas, and the body of the Danish

soldier killed in action. It hit me then that this flight was many --

one of many, carrying home men and women whose lives had changed for

ever, and some made the ultimate sacrifice. How are you? Very well.

In October, a project to rebuild a street in Manchester for military

veterans prompted both Harry and William to don their hard hats. You

guys should actually be working! Get back to work! The BBC programme DIY

SOS was inundated with volunteers to help complete their biggest ever

built. Nice to meet you. How are you doing? What is your role? Putting

these things in. Are you helping out for free? Yes, because it is

about... These people literally put their lives on the line for us. It

is a chance for the rest of us to say, this is the least we can do. A

good incentive to everybody else is that if you work hard and honour

your country, you will get looked after afterwards. If you are not

going to get looked after, what kind of country are we? As you say, it is

the right things to do. Good on you. Nice to meet you. Very pleased to

meet you. Let's get this in. Come on, then. This is as big as you! I

know you and your brother have been keen on this community idea, having

that brotherhood and that family feel, it means a lot to the guys.

Luckily, we do not understand what you have been through, and some of

the guys have been through very chromatic times. They didn't want to

share that nasty mess with people who don't really get it or haven't

lived it, because it is not that easy to do. Our military personnel

are very proud, and rightly so, and it is very hard when the services

are there. They are not the kind of guys to complain about it. They suck

it up and they deal with it, and they are the most modest people you

could meet. Coupled with the heartfelt sentiment, lots of sibling

rivalry. Is he talking about mine, or his brother's work? You always

say, if a job is worth doing... Let that dry, and then come back for a

second coating. All right? Still to come, Kate attends her first state

banquet, as Britain rolls out the red carpet for the Chinese

President. And Prince William takes on the paparazzi over his children's

privacy. The Queen, the world's most

travelled monarch, has cut down on long haul trips in recent years.

Prince Charles continues to represent her around the world, with

tours this year to Australia, New Zealand and the Middle East. It was

a trip much closer to home that had deeper significance, both

and privately. Ireland, and a handshake over a cup

of tea between a future king and a man who, for so many years, was

committed to what Irish republicans called the armed struggle. Away from

the cameras, a 15 minute meeting. We expressed our regret for what had

happened. We have a common mind, and the fact that we have been to a

place that obviously was a big thing for him to do. It was also a big

thing for us to do. The next day in County Sligo, and the coastal town

of Moloch more. This cannot have been an easy walk. It was here, in

1979, that Charles' great uncle, Lord bout Batten, had been killed.

The images from then a reminder of the troubles. The images of a boat

blown apart by an ROA -- and IRA bomb. Three others, including Lord

Mount Afton's grandson and a local boy, were also killed. At a time I

couldn't understand how we could come to this terms with the anguish

of such a deep loss, because for me, Lord Mountbatten represented the

grandfather I had never had. Through this loss, I now understand the

agonies borne by so many others in these islands, of what is

denomination or political persuasion. As a public gesture of

Anglo Irish reconciliation, the significance couldn't have been more

clear. In Britain, Prince Charles' relationship with politicians was

under intense security -- scrutiny. The Guardian newspaper work to

publish letters he had written to successive governments. They were

released in May. And what did the so-called black spider letters

reveal? They showed his concerns for organic farming and other issues,

and there was no obvious smoking gun. It led many to question what

the fuss was all about. The government received letters from

high-profile people. Why shouldn't Prince Charles write the odd letter,

if there is something he wants to get off his chest? Those who accuse

the heir to the throne of meddling in political matters insist that if

the monarchy is to survive, it must be politically neutral. It is

essential that that person is politically inured, and is not

getting involved in partisan politics. It appears that Prince

Charles did, and if he did, he has been doing it for 65 years of his

life, and is likely to do that in the future. There is little sign the

principal refrain from commenting on issues he believes are important. At

the UN and change conference in Paris, attended by 150 world leader,

as he said that the world faces no bigger threat than climate change. I

can urge you to think of your grandchildren as I think of mine,

and those brilliant -- billions of children without a voice, those for

home hope is the rarest of sensations, those for whom a secure

life is a distant prospect. Most of all, I urge you to consider the

needs of the youngest generation. For the Queen, who is now 89, the

younger generation includes most of the wreck sensitive at this years

Commonwealth heads of government held in Malta. It is my honour to

offer a toast to your Majesty. It didn't go unnoticed that Canada's

newly elected Prime Minister is half her age. Thank you for making me

feel so old! The royal couple in 1949. Malt remains the only country

outside the UK in which they have ever lived. They spent two years

here as newlyweds while the Duke was in the Royal Navy. It was here that

the Princess managed to live and almost normal life. Visiting malt is

always very special for me. I remember happy days here with Prince

Philip when we were first married, and the wonderful official visits

over the last 60 years. Since my first experience of Malta in 1949 as

a young woman, I have seen this country evolve into a strong nation

which plays an important role on world's stage. In October, the

national anthem of the People's Republic of China was played by the

band of the Grenadier Guards. President Xi Jinping and his wife

were welcomed by the Queen and the juke macro at the start of their

state visit. The president joined Prince Philip for an inspection of

the guard of honour before eight procession down the Mall. The

purpose of the visit was to forge ties of friendship and trade, and it

was to show that few DuPont and ceremony better than the British.

The four-day visit was not without controversy, with protest is

highlighting concerns about China's human rights record, and its policy

about the disputed territory of Tibet. The president and his wife

stayed at Buckingham Palace for two nights. The official guests included

a book of Shakespeare's sonnets for the president, known to be a fan,

and for the Queen, two albums from the President's wife, a well-known

singer in China. In the evening, and official state banquet. This was the

first such occasion the Duchess of Cambridge had attended. Suitably

clothed in red, she and the 170 guests ate Balmoral Bennison. Prince

Charles was a notable absentees. No official reason was given, although

his press team was keen to point out he had already spent time with the

Chinese President during the day. He has had a complicated relationship

with the Chinese. He is a personal friend of the exiled spiritual

leader of Tibet, the Dalelv armour. Charles' Sun appears to have taken a

different approach. In March, Prince William became the first senior

Moloch for 30 years to travel to China. How is your Chinese? A bit

slow. This visit was about promoting British business, but also on his

agenda, one of his key personal crusades, the illegal poaching of

endangered species, and an appeal to end the market of products such as

ivory. It is appalling that elephants and many other animals may

be extinct in the wild in our lifetimes, and we seem to be

hurtling towards that tragic outcome. The extension of rhinos and

pandas would be an immeasurable loss to the whole of humanity. The

wildlife trade is our common enemy. This crusade is shared by Prince

Harry. Photos taken during the summer showed his work with

conservation projects, such as the warning small rhinos in Namibia.

Here he is feeding a calf whose mother had been killed by poachers.

During and official visit back to the continent in November, Harry

travelled to Lesotho to open a new children's Centre, funded by the

charity he sent up, Sentebale. He first visited in 2004 during his gap

year, and had been moved by the plight of youngsters who had left

one of both parents because of HIV or AIDS. He took a shine to one of

these youngsters, and they have had a relationship over the years. The

prince explained why he had such affinity with the children of

Lesotho. We shared a common loss. Having a parent 's etched away so

suddenly. I, like them, knew there would always be a gaping hole that

could never be filled. This continues to be a personal project

for Harry, with rooms in the new centre named after his former nanny

and his late mother. In a year in which royal headlines were

overwhelmingly positive, there were a few notable exceptions. Starting

in January with the Queen's second son, Prince Andrew. Court documents

had been submitted in the US against a former acquaintance of Prince

Andrew, Jeffrey Epstein. He is a committed sex offender. This woman,

Virginia Roberts, alleged the Prince had sex with her when she was a

teenager. The allegations were emphatically denied by both the

palace and the Prince. Firstly, I think I must, for the record,

to refer to the events that have taken place in the last few weeks. I

just wish to reiterate and to reaffirm the statements which have

already been made on my behalf I Buckingham Palace. Months later, a

judge ruled the allegations should be struck from court documents, but

the matter did call into question the Prince's judgment, in terms of

the company he chooses to keep. In November, Kensington Palace released

pictures of sinks month old Prince Charlotte, saying they hoped people

would enjoy them as much as they did. -- six-month-old. Earlier in

the year, it was the targeting of George by paparazzi that prompted

the Palace to write an open letter to the media around the world. A

small number of photographers where, it was alleged, on a regular and

increasingly dangerous basis. This was an attempt to appeal to the

Court of public opinion, encouraging readers to boycott the publication

is willing to pay for such pictures. It was a film obtained by the Sun

newspaper from more than 80 years ago that caused anger from behind

the palace walls. The Queen, then a young girl, is pictured with her

mother and uncle, performing a Nazi salute. Completely out of step with

the Queen's believes, for the Palace, this was an unwelcome image

from history. A few weeks before the Sun published its story, the Queen

had been on a state visit to Germany, and went to the former

concentration camp at Bergen-Belsen. A reminder of an unfortunate chapter

in history, she met some of the survivors of the camp, and as she

left, turned back briefly. It is difficult to imagine, she said. At a

state banquet given in her honour and attended by the political

leaders of both Germany and the United Kingdom, the Queen spoke of

the need to avoid repeating the mistakes of the past. We know that

division in Europe is dangerous, and that we must guard against it in the

West as well as in the east of our continent. That remains a common

endeavour. Remembrance has once again played a significant part in

Britain's and the Royal Family's year. In March, a service was held

in St Paul's Cathedral to thank those who had taken part in the 13

year long campaign in Afghanistan. Most of the congregation were

relatives of the military personnel who have lost their lives in the

conflict. The mother of Lance-Corporal James Ashworth read

one of the prayers. Peacemakers and peacekeepers who seek to keep this

world secure and free, may God give peace. 75 years since the Battle of

Britain. Above the Thames, Spitfires and Hurricanes took part in the

commemorations. On the ground, soldiers and pilots shared their

stories of survival. In May, it was exactly 70 years since Germany's

surrender. Thousands of veterans and service personnel marched through

London. The Queen had been 19 at the time, and famously left the palace

walls to join the celebrations in the Mall. Also there that night,

Helen Taylor Thomas. Everybody was so thrilled that war had ended and

we were free. In August, remembering victory in Japan. Many who returned

70 years ago had felt forgotten. In 2015, that wasn't the case. Those

who sacrificed so much were cheered and thanked as they paraded down

Whitehall. Next year, commemorations will continue to be led by the Royal

Family. In April, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will travel to

India. And Trooping the Colour in 2016 will be in honour of the

Queen90th birthday.