SUPPORT OUR JOURNALISM: Please consider donating to keep our website running and free for all - thank you!

Queen Elizabeth II

The Queen’s Christmas Day surprise

It’s proving to be a very different Christmas in more ways than one for many and the Queen is no exception. This year, the contents of her Christmas Day speech will be kept secret until the moment it is broadcast.

Her Majesty usually pre-records her Christmas Day message and in previous years, snippets of the speech have been shared ahead of December 25th. However, this has led to complaints from some and that has been taken into account as the decision was made about whether to offer any preview of this year’s Christmas Day message.

Instead, everyone will have to wait until 3pm, UK time, on December 25th 2020 to find out what the Queen is going to say. This is one of her most highly anticipated Christmas Day messages and comes at the end of a year in which Her Majesty has made two extraordinary broadcasts. In April 2020, she made a special speech offering hope and reassurance at the height of the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic and in May there was another broadcast to commemorate the 75th anniversary of VE Day.

In another modern move, this year’s Christmas Day speech will also be available on Alexa for the first time. But you’ll still have to wait until the clock strikes three. At the exact moment the Queen’s Speech begins on TV and radio, Alexa users will be able to ask their device to ”play the Queen’s Christmas Day message”.

The festive broadcast is a tradition that goes back to 1932 when the Queen’s grandfather, King George V, gave the first Christmas Day speech via radio. This year’s message will be recorded at Windsor Castle where the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh are staying as the pandemic continues.

About author

Lydia Starbuck is Jubilee and Associate Editor at Royal Central and the main producer and presenter of the Royal Central Podcast and Royal Central Extra. Lydia is also a pen name of June Woolerton who is a journalist and writer with over twenty years experience in TV, radio, print and online. Her latest book, A History of British Royal Jubilees, is out now. Her new book, The Mysterious Death of Katherine Parr, will be published in March 2024. June is an award winning reporter, producer and editor. She's appeared on outlets including BBC 5 Live, BBC Radio Ulster and BBC Local Radio and has also helped set up a commercial radio station. June is also an accomplished writer with a wide range of material published online and in print. She is the author of two novels, published as e-books. She is also a marriage registrar and ceremony celebrant.