Queen Elizabeth II

A moment of history in the first Christmas speech of Queen Elizabeth II

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24th December 2024
For our last lookback at Royal Christmas Broadcasts throughout the years, we are looking at one of the most historic Christmas speeches: Queen Elizabeth II’s first Christmas address as monarch in 1952. When Princess Elizabeth set out with her husband for a six month Commonwealth tour on behalf of her father. King George VI, on 31 January 1952, she did not know that within days, she…
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King George V's most intimate Christmas speech

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22nd December 2024
As we explore a different Royal Christmas Broadcast each day from 1 to 24 December, we are able to see both personal, family moments and public events marked. In 1934, King George V added a real family touch to his Christmas speech, only the third he had ever made.   On 29 November 1934, Prince George, Duke of Kent, married Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark in the society event of the…
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A Christmas message filled with hope

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20th December 2024
The Second World War was the major defining event of King George VI’s reign and as such, several of his Royal Christmas Broadcasts dealt with the war. In 1943, he once again focused on the dedication, faith, and resiliency of both service members and civilians across the…
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The king who spoke from the 15th century in 2024 and other amazing royal discoveries

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18th December 2024
The year 2024 has seen many royal history discoveries. From lost portraits to a controversial monarch’s voice, experts have continued to uncover the past lives of royals.  Mayan royal jade mask found In January 2024, a team of archaeologists led by Francisco Estrada-Belli of Tulane University shared that in 2021 they had discovered a complete jade mask from a Mayan King dating back…
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Christmas Day words that became one of the most famous royal speeches in history

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16th December 2024
It would become one of the most important speeches of a reign and of a century. When King George VI addressed his people on Christmas Day 1939, the usual festivities were very far from his and their minds. Instead, in the first months of World War Two, King George spoke of the huge challenge faced by millions in words that are now part of history. By Christmas Day 1939, Europe was four months…
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