Queen’s Christmas Message 1999,
BBC, 1999
The Queen’s messages to England and her Commonwealth have been a Christmas institution since 1953. The style has
loosened over the years without of course going too far. There are the occasional contractions like can’ or haven’t
slipping in, and a preparedness to dish up some different contexts each year but plenty of elegant phrasing and
tried and true homilies remain. A true professional.
“A very happy Christmas from St. George’s Chapel, Windsor. Listening to the choir reminds me that this season of
carols and Christmas trees is a time to take stock, a time to reflect on the events of the past year and to make
resolutions for the new year ahead. This December we are looking back not just one year but on a hundred years
and a thousand years. History is measured in centuries. More than ever we are aware of being a tiny part of the
infinite sweep of time, when we move from one century and one millennium to another. Here at Windsor the first
fortifications were started by William the Conqueror in the earliest years of this millennium. The castle we see
today is a result of continual evolution and change over the last thousand years. And as I look to the future I
have no doubt that the one certainty is change, and the pace of that change will only seem to increase. This is
true for all of us, young and old.
At my mother’s 99th birthday last august I was struck how the inevitability of change effects us all, and how
different were my mother’s early years compared with those of my grandmother. Birthdays, like Christmas, are
a good time to get the family together and last summer we had all the generations well represented. My mother’s
birthday was also an opportunity to have a photograph taken of the four generations together. As a family we cover
quite a time span. My mother can tell us about elderly relatives from her childhood whose memories went back into
the middle of the 19th century. My grandchildren’s experiences will in turn take them towards the end of the 21st
century. For many of their generation the future is a source of excitement, hope and challenge.
Tonight I am giving a reception in Edinburgh for people under the age of 30 from all over Scotland. They’ve been
invited because they have already achieved success or recognition in their lives. I’m looking forward to hearing
what they think about the future. It is so encouraging talking to these young people. They are able to look forward
to a future of opportunity and greater achievement. For others, however, the future is a cause of understandable
anxiety. There are many, for example of my generation, or amongst the more vulnerable in society who worry that
they will be left behind. The sheer rate of change seems to be sweeping away so much that is familiar and comforting.
But I don’t think we need to be over-anxious, we can make sense of the future if we understand the lessons of the past..
Winston Churchill, my first Prime Minister, said that the further back backward you look, the further forward you can see,
and it was this importance of history that was much in my mind when I opened the new Scottish parliament in July this year.
Devolution in Scotland and Wales, and more recently the very welcome progress in Northern Ireland, are responses to today’s
changing changing circumstances, but they need to seen in their historical contexts. The Scottish parliament is new, but
its many links with the past were expressed through symbols and ceremony. Traditions are important all over the world.
Last month, on my visit to South Africa, I went to a township school in Alexandra, outside Johannesburg,
Which has received financial aid from Britain. Africa has a unique place in my affections and there is always
something so very special about the warmth and enthusiasm of the traditional African welcome. There was the same
exuberance and happiness as I and other Commonwealth leaders arrived in Durban for the Commonwealth heads of
government meeting. Many of us at this conference highlighted how the varied strands of our shared history have
been woven together so that we can more effectively address the challenges and opportunities ahead. Our common
past has played a crucial part in bringing so many peoples together into the modern Commonwealth. Looking out
here over the streets of Durban you quickly get a sense of how people from different cultures have come together.
And it’s the energy and creativity of this which is so very exciting. That, to me, is what the Commonwealth is all about.
As with the process of devolution in the United Kingdom the Commonwealth reminds us all of the importance of
bringing the lessons of the past to bear on the aspirations for a better future. Talking to Prime Ministers and
Presidents in Durban the need was brought home to me for all of us to draw from our history those constant and
unchanging values which have stood the test of time and experience. Fairness and compassion, justice and tolerance,
these are the landmarks from the past which can guide us through the years ahead. These timeless values tell us above
all about the way we should relate to people rather than to things, thinking of others not just ourselves. Earlier
this year in Manchester I visited some of the emergency services whose responsibilites day in and day out are based
on concern for others. As always they are on duty over these Christmas and New Year holidays. Some of these firefighters
have gone well beyond Manchester to give assistance to others. Earlier this year this group had been working in very
difficult conditions amongst the refugees in the Balkans. Up and down the country people like these are working tirelelssly
to help others. They remind us of the responsilbilty to show concern for our neighbours and those less fortunate than
ourselves. I believe that this provides us with the direction and resolve required for the years ahead.
The future is not only about new gadgets, modern technologies and the latest fashion important as these may be.
At the centre of all our lives, today and tomorrow, must be the message of caring for others, the message at the
heart of Christianity and all the great religions. This message, love thy neighbour as thyself, may be for Christians
2000 years old, but it is as relevant today as it ever was. I believe it gives us the guidance and the reassurance we
need, as we step over the threshold into the 21st century and I for one am looking forward to this new millennium.
May I wish you all a Merry Christmas and, in this year of all years, a very happy new year.”
Discussion Points
- Tricolon – “one year, one hundred years, one thousand years”
- Reference to famous names in British history – William the Conqueror, Winston Churchill
- Metaphor – “…tiny part of the xinfinite sweep of time.” An attempt at humility
- Personal pronouns – we, us etc to establish intimacy, sense of connection
- Emotionally toned adjectives – challenging, special
- Abstract nouns – hope, opportunity, excitement, fairness, justice, tolerance – all admirable qualities
- Quoting Churchill, the most quoted British politician? Lends an air of authority, although as Queen she probably doesn’t need it. Churchill, of course, is a British hero who came to epitomize the fighting, determined British spirit.
- Antithesis – “…is new, but its many links to the past…”
- Metaphor, somewhat clichéd: “…varied strands of our history…”
- Syntax – “And it’s the energy and creativity of this …”
- Adverbial intensifiers – tirelessly
- Repetition – “message” of caring, religion etc.
- Angelic wee boys, very traditional Christmas stuff, sets the scene etc
- Intimate MCU shot of the Queen. Direct to camera, talking to us etc emphasises intimacy of the address.
- Cut to a brief tour of Windsor with its links to history
- Focus on the family – plenty of footage of the various generations of the family enjoying each other’s company
- The Royals can mix on any level – the Queen talks about meeting with young people and we see her mixing with young folks from school children through to youngish (under 30 function in Edinburgh).
- The Queen seems quite happy about the “devolution” – smiling etc. This shows the Royals are modern, can move with the times, are flexible and listen to the public.
- A trip to South Africa (emerging, youthful nations) is followed by a return home where she meets with the Fire Service – people who help people, people who care, a nice segue to her message about caring.
- Symmetry – back to Windsor, wee boys etc.
