Christmas speech
The Royal Christmas Speech, broadcasted on December 25, has become a traditional element of Christmas in Britain. The Queen sums up the events of the year and gives Christmas greetings to all Britains.
History
The first Christmas speech was held by George V in 1932 and by that time it was still to all of the Commonwealth. The speech could be heard live on the radio. In fact, it was the idea of "the founding father of the BBC, Sir John Reith." The speech was written by Rudyard Kipling. It was broadcasted from Sandringham, where the Royal Family use to spend Christmas, therefore the first speech contained the following words: "I speak now from my home and from my heart to you all.", underlining the realtion between the King and his subjects. Elizabetz II gave her first message in 1952. In 1957, it was for the first time broadcasted on TV. Today it can also be followed on the internet. Since 1960, the speeches have been recorded a few days before Christmas. In the last few years, they were not recorded at Sandrigham any longer, but at Windsor Castle or Buckingham Palace, although in previous speeches, the Queen emphasized the tradition of spending Christmas at Sandringham. The text of the message stays top secret, and as there have been lacks of discretion in some years before, the recorded speech is only sent to the media outlets on Christmas Eve.
1992 - a special one
Most of the Christmas Speeches don't seem worth remembering, but in 1992 the Queen spoke of an "annus horribilis", having to bear two family marriages breaking up, one divorce and a fire at Windsor Castle.