How personal joy combined with concerns for peace in a landmark Christmas speech

The Royal Christmas Broadcast remains a beloved tradition, with the Monarch sharing a heartfelt speech. One of the most exciting years for the Royal Family also produced one of the most poignant speeches.

Sixty years ago, in 1964, the Royal Family welcomed four new babies.

Princess Alexandra of Kent gave birth to James Robert Bruce Ogilvy on 29 February. Less than a fortnight later, Queen Elizabeth gave birth to Prince Edward Antony Richard Louis on 10 March.

The Duchess of Kent then gave birth to Lady Helen Marina Lucy on 28 April and Princess Margaret’s daughter, Lady Sarah Frances Elizabeth, was born on 1 May. 

But as well as the exciting family news, 1964 saw wider crises. In South Africa, the anti-apartheid leader Nelson Mandela had been jailed for life. Queen Elizabeth II addressed these major events in her address, saying ”The thread which runs through our Commonwealth is love of freedom, and it is perhaps in this, more than in anything else, that our real wealth lies. Now the word ‘freedom’, like the word ‘democracy’, is a simple one implying a simple idea, and yet freedom, to be effective, must be disciplined.”

Queen Elizabeth once again looked to youth as a source of hope for the future to finish her speech, ending with ”Upon you rests our hope for the future. You young people are needed; there is a great task ahead of you – the building of a new world. You have brains and courage, imagination and humanity; direct them to the things that have to be achieved in this century, if mankind is to live together in happiness and prosperity.”