While the sovereign’s Christmas address often touches on personal topics, such as the birth of a new family member, weddings, tours, or Jubilees, they often also discuss worldwide events that affect everyone. In 2000, Queen Elizabeth II’s Royal Christmas Broadcast opened with a nod to the Millennium.Â
Queen Elizabeth II said ”By any measure this Millennium year has been an unforgettable one. Since the turn of the year it has been celebrated and marked in this country and throughout the Commonwealth, and it has been a particular pleasure for me to visit Millennium projects large and small which will be reminders for generations to come of the time when the twenty-first century began.”
It is not surprising that the large majority of her address in 2000 focused on Christian principles and teachings, as her faith quietly guided her throughout her seven-decade long reign.
Queen Elizabeth noted that ”Christmas is the traditional, if not the actual, birthday of a man who was destined to change the course of our history. And today we are celebrating the fact that Jesus Christ was born two thousand years ago; this is the true Millennium anniversary.”
Queen Elizabeth also included those practicing other religions in her address, to openly embrace all of her subjects, as she said ”…the Bible, the Koran and the sacred texts of the Jews and Hindus, Buddhists and Sikhs, are all sources of divine inspiration and practical guidance passed down through the generations.”
There were words of unity to conclude, as Queen Elizabeth said ”To many of us our beliefs are of fundamental importance.’‘
It was a striking message of faith to mark the Millennium.
