As the world prepares for Christmas the Queen’s speech, which will air at 3 p.m. on Christmas Day and is being broadcast on Amazon Alexa for the very first time, could be the most watched -and listened to- in Queen Elizabeth’s reign according to Sally Bedell Smith, author of Elizabeth the Queen.
The speech, recorded at Windsor Castle where the Queen is self-isolating with Prince Philip, is expected to be dominated by the Covid pandemic, with people around the world tuning in to hear what the Queen will say on Christmas Day. With much of the United Kingdom currently in a Tier 4 lockdown and forced to stay at home, the monarch is expected to spread a message of love, hope and support.
“People around the world value her leadership qualities more than ever,” Bedell Smith said. “I reckon they’ll be eager to hear her message, knowing especially that it comes from the heart.”
In what has been a milestone year for the Royal Family, and one in which the institution has been forced to adapt at lightning speed, the Queen has proven to be the ultimate modernizer at the age of 94. From her very first Zoom call ( who can forget Princess Anne giving the monarch a quick tutorial live on camera) to virtual audiences and investitures to carrying out her first public engagement while masked, 2020 has marked a year of firsts for the United Kingdom’s longest-reigning monarch.
As the world has adopted to the new Covid normal, so have the royals. For the Queen this has meant being visible, connecting with her subjects and embracing technology. Supported by front line royals including Prince Charles, Duchess Camilla, Prince William, Duchess Kate, Princess Anne, Prince Edward, and Countess Sophie, the royal family has worked tirelessly throughout the pandemic, supporting the emergency services, organizations and charities around the United Kingdom.
The monarch, as ever in times of crisis, has been a much needed beacon of light, guiding the nation and giving people hope. She has addressed the nation twice this year—during Britain’s first lockdown in the spring, and on VE Day. Echoing the spirit of wartime Britain the Queen promised her people that there was hope for the future and that there would be a time when we would “meet again.”
‘The Queen has managed the myriad challenges of 2020 with admirable dexterity and thoughtfulness. She has always been adept at moving imperceptibly with the times, following the ‘Marmite Theory’ of Monarchy. But this year she has not only been measured but swift,” Bedell Smith said.
Indeed it has been a make or break year for the monarchy, with 2020 kicking off amid great turbulence when Prince Harry and Meghan unexpectedly announced they were leaving the royal family. It was a potential PR disaster for the House of Windsor and came hot on the heels of the scandal surrounding Prince Andrew’s friendship with Jeffrey Epstein and the fall out from his disastrous Newsnight interview, which resulted in the Duke standing down as a working member of the royal family.
But the Queen proved, as she has done throughout her reign, that the monarchy can weather a storm and emerge victorious. “This year, the Queen turned a potentially messy exit by Harry and Meghan into a humane but thoroughly pragmatic solution that was hard to criticize,” Bedell Smith said. “She was decisive and firm but understanding, offering them a re-entry if their plans failed to work out.”
She continued, “We saw that kind of response after Diana’s death, when the Queen’s understandable impulse to protect her grandsons drew unfair criticism. Once she recognized the threat to the monarchy, she pivoted smartly and gave an incredibly effective tribute to Diana, televised live. Her bow to Diana’s coffin in the funeral procession was spontaneous and powerful. Then in the aftermath, the Queen took stock and modified royal behavior during engagements to incorporate some of the best of what Diana had done in her charitable work. When Covid hit, she seemed to recognize the wartime analogy and positioned herself as the ‘sheet anchor in the middle for people to hang on to in times of trouble,’ as David Airlie, her former Lord Chamberlain, once described her to me. The Queen’s “We will meet again” speech was pitch perfect and well timed.”
The pandemic has also offered a greater insight into the inner workings on the monarchy. From her drawing rooms at Balmoral and Windsor the Queen has addressed the nation with more intimacy than ever. She has sat in front of a computer screen so she can be captured at work. Every single day of the lockdown she has read the contents of her famous red dispatch box, even agreeing to be photographed for the first time in conversation with her Prime Minister Boris Johnson a weekly meeting which has always, until now, been sacrosanct.