The Queen is set to deliver her most Christian message yet in her Christmas speech, after a year of Isil jihadist attacks.
Sources say the monarch will use her traditional annual speech to reflect on her personal faith as well as her belief in the continuing role of Christianity at the centre of British life.
Her words are expected to be particularly significant following a year of terrorist attacks by Isil.
The Queen gives her speech at Sandringham, where the Royal Family spends every Christmas and New Year, and is broadcast around the Commonwealth on Christmas Day. In the UK it is traditionally broadcast at 3pm. Last year, nearly 8 million people in the UK watched it.
The Queen's speech is set to be the most overtly Christian yet
The monarch is expected to use her annual message to reflect on her own personal faith, after a year of terrorist attacks by Isil
The first televised Queen's Speech, 1957
Lexi Finnigan
By Lexi Finnigan
20 Dec 2015
The Queen is set to deliver her most Christian message yet in her Christmas speech, after a year of Isil jihadist attacks.
Sources say the monarch will use her traditional annual speech to reflect on her personal faith as well as her belief in the continuing role of Christianity at the centre of British life.
Her words are expected to be particularly significant following a year of terrorist attacks by Isil.
The former Bishop of Rochester, Michael Nazir-Ali, told the Mail on Sunday: “Clearly extremist is a backdrop to anything that any public figures say at this time.
“If people in this country gave greater heed to what the Queen says about the importance of Christianity in our personal as well as our national life, then we would be in a better place to confront it.
“The Queen will also be aware that Christians and others have faced unprecedented persecution over the last year in parts of the Middle East, and could even face extinction.”
The content of the Queen’s speech is, as ever, a closely guarded secret.
But a source told The Mail: “Over the years we’ve seen a greater emphasis on the Queen’s faith and we’re certain to see it in this year’s Christmas broadcast. There’s a fundamental optimism which, to an extent, is driven by her faith in contrast to the overall gloom. She is driven by a deep and spirited faith.”
This morning, the Archbishop of Canterbury posted a Christmas message to his Facebook page calling for more tolerance and understanding between different faiths.
He said: “This year has been an extremely tough one for so many people and communities in this country.
“In particular I think of our Muslim brothers and sisters who’ve felt pressurised to defend themselves in the wake of horrendous attacks carried out so outrageously in their name.
“No one in this country should have to feel fear and anxiety as they try peacefully to live, pray and worship in their faith tradition.”
He goes on to urge people to “take the risk” of talking to a neighbour or a fellow school parent. “See what happens,” he says.
The Queen's Christmas message will air on BBC1 and ITV at 3pm on Christmas Day. Last year it attracted 7.8million viewers in the UK alone.
Royal Christmas message
The Queen giving last year's Christmas speech
First radio message: 1932, delivered by George V
First by Elizabeth II: 1952
First televised: 1957
First online: 2006 - available as a podcast
First in 3D: 2012 - broadcast by Sky
Did you know...
• King Edward VIII never delivered a Christmas message as his reign lasted less than a year, ending in abdication in 1936. No message was broadcast this year
•No Christmas message was broadcast in 1938 as it wasn't yet a royal tradition
• It was the outbreak of war in 1939 which firmly established the tradition, when George VI sought to reassure people and boost morale
• A 2014 poll by the Salvation Army revealed that four in ten people don't tune into the Queen's Speech on Christmas Day
The Queen's speech is set to be the most overtly Christian yet - Telegraph
Sources say the monarch will use her traditional annual speech to reflect on her personal faith as well as her belief in the continuing role of Christianity at the centre of British life.
Her words are expected to be particularly significant following a year of terrorist attacks by Isil.
The Queen gives her speech at Sandringham, where the Royal Family spends every Christmas and New Year, and is broadcast around the Commonwealth on Christmas Day. In the UK it is traditionally broadcast at 3pm. Last year, nearly 8 million people in the UK watched it.
The Queen's speech is set to be the most overtly Christian yet
The monarch is expected to use her annual message to reflect on her own personal faith, after a year of terrorist attacks by Isil
The first televised Queen's Speech, 1957
Lexi Finnigan
By Lexi Finnigan
20 Dec 2015
The Queen is set to deliver her most Christian message yet in her Christmas speech, after a year of Isil jihadist attacks.
Sources say the monarch will use her traditional annual speech to reflect on her personal faith as well as her belief in the continuing role of Christianity at the centre of British life.
Her words are expected to be particularly significant following a year of terrorist attacks by Isil.
The former Bishop of Rochester, Michael Nazir-Ali, told the Mail on Sunday: “Clearly extremist is a backdrop to anything that any public figures say at this time.
“If people in this country gave greater heed to what the Queen says about the importance of Christianity in our personal as well as our national life, then we would be in a better place to confront it.
“The Queen will also be aware that Christians and others have faced unprecedented persecution over the last year in parts of the Middle East, and could even face extinction.”
The content of the Queen’s speech is, as ever, a closely guarded secret.
But a source told The Mail: “Over the years we’ve seen a greater emphasis on the Queen’s faith and we’re certain to see it in this year’s Christmas broadcast. There’s a fundamental optimism which, to an extent, is driven by her faith in contrast to the overall gloom. She is driven by a deep and spirited faith.”
This morning, the Archbishop of Canterbury posted a Christmas message to his Facebook page calling for more tolerance and understanding between different faiths.
He said: “This year has been an extremely tough one for so many people and communities in this country.
“In particular I think of our Muslim brothers and sisters who’ve felt pressurised to defend themselves in the wake of horrendous attacks carried out so outrageously in their name.
“No one in this country should have to feel fear and anxiety as they try peacefully to live, pray and worship in their faith tradition.”
He goes on to urge people to “take the risk” of talking to a neighbour or a fellow school parent. “See what happens,” he says.
The Queen's Christmas message will air on BBC1 and ITV at 3pm on Christmas Day. Last year it attracted 7.8million viewers in the UK alone.
Royal Christmas message
The Queen giving last year's Christmas speech
First radio message: 1932, delivered by George V
First by Elizabeth II: 1952
First televised: 1957
First online: 2006 - available as a podcast
First in 3D: 2012 - broadcast by Sky
Did you know...
• King Edward VIII never delivered a Christmas message as his reign lasted less than a year, ending in abdication in 1936. No message was broadcast this year
•No Christmas message was broadcast in 1938 as it wasn't yet a royal tradition
• It was the outbreak of war in 1939 which firmly established the tradition, when George VI sought to reassure people and boost morale
• A 2014 poll by the Salvation Army revealed that four in ten people don't tune into the Queen's Speech on Christmas Day
The Queen's speech is set to be the most overtly Christian yet - Telegraph
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