Uploaded December 2024 | Updated September 2026, 25 minutes ago
The monarch’s CHRISTMAS MESSAGE is a uniquely Windsor family tradition and has been a staple of a British Christmas almost without pause since 1932. It is also broadcast in many other Commonwealth counties around the world and nowadays, on the internet. The first royal Christmas broadcast was delivered by George V and was in audio form only. It marked a first in the history of radio. In 1957, there was a first in the history of television too, when the Queen’s speech was televised by his granddaughter, Elizabeth II and transmitted live from her home at Sandringham on Christmas Day. Beginning in 1959 the messages were pre-recorded so that they could be aired at more convenient local times around the world and no doubt taking much of the stress out them for the monarch and TV crews (though George VI had also pre-recorded his of 1951 as a one-off). Starting in 2022 King Charles III has maintained the tradition with his own version of the King’s speech. The only monarch since his great-grandfather not to make a Christmas speech to the British people and the Commonwealth was Edward VIII, whose reign was less than a year long and terminated before he had been King over Christmas.
In today’s royal history documentary from History Calling, we look at the history of the royal Christmas message, including its beginnings, the years it has been missed, its content, its evolution over the decades and its current form. I’ll share some snippets of older broadcasts with you along with the technical challenges faced over the years in making the broadcasts happen and why they were originally scheduled for 3pm. I’ll even discuss the significance of the family photographs seen on the monarch’s desk during the message.
BUY MY BOOK (Find Your Irish Ancestors Online): amzn.to/3Z2ChnG
Website (with 2 FREE DOWNLOADS): historycallingofficial.com
Patreon: patreon.com/historycalling
Amazon storefront: amazon.com/shop/historycalling
Instagram: instagram.com/historycalling
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE:
The Windsors’ playlist
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLSjVq5Qtb0Hcobdqr28E9JREQ0D02wkO
Murder of George V
youtu.be/YZUhA6ZrAuA
Life of Elizabeth II
youtu.be/pIOBbBwvymA
Sandringham Time
youtu.be/r7GoGPbCUnc
Why are they called Windsor?
youtu.be/WmJbc2XY8BI
History of Buckingham Palace
youtu.be/ZRbvcoeX06g
LEARN MORE
The King’s Speech (2010 film) available at amzn.to/3zi2tAy
Christmas Broadcast transcripts, 1952 – present
royal.uk/the-christmas-broadcast#:~:text=King%20George%20had%20reigned%20since,now%20the%20BBC%20World%20Service
GEAR USED
Apple MacBook Pro Laptop (for video editing): amzn.to/3S6IoRK
DJI Drone: amzn.to/38h1vXr (UK LINK) OR amzn.to/39hROZm (US LINK)
Go-Pro Hero 10 camera: amzn.to/3EPIK9U (UK LINK) OR amzn.to/3rTWScL (US LINK)
GoPro 3-Way 2.0 (Tripod/Grip/Arm): amzn.to/37CdC1r (UK LINK) OR amzn.to/3vaVxjU (US LINK)
Memory Card: amzn.to/36QvcOQ (UK LINK) OR amzn.to/3KeLZZs (US LINK)
Microphone: amzn.to/3MFtoaK (UK LINK) OR amzn.to/3rYtjH8 (US LINK)
NB: Links above may be affiliate links. This means if you make a purchase through one of these links, I earn a small commission. It in no way affects the price you pay.
Open Street Map copyright information
openstreetmap.org/copyright
Creative Commons licenses used see creativecommons.org/licenses
#Christmasmessage #Christmasbroadcast #KingsSpeech #QueensSpeech
The monarch’s CHRISTMAS MESSAGE is a uniquely Windsor family tradition and has been a staple of a British Christmas almost without pause since 1932. It is also broadcast in many other Commonwealth counties around the world and nowadays, on the internet. The first royal Christmas broadcast was delivered by George V and was in audio form only. It marked a first in the history of radio. In 1957, there was a first in the history of television too, when the Queen’s speech was televised by his granddaughter, Elizabeth II and transmitted live from her home at Sandringham on Christmas Day. Beginning in 1959 the messages were pre-recorded so that they could be aired at more convenient local times around the world and no doubt taking much of the stress out them for the monarch and TV crews (though George VI had also pre-recorded his of 1951 as a one-off). Starting in 2022 King Charles III has maintained the tradition with his own version of the King’s speech. The only monarch since his great-grandfather not to make a Christmas speech to the British people and the Commonwealth was Edward VIII, whose reign was less than a year long and terminated before he had been King over Christmas.
In today’s royal history documentary from History Calling, we look at the history of the royal Christmas message, including its beginnings, the years it has been missed, its content, its evolution over the decades and its current form. I’ll share some snippets of older broadcasts with you along with the technical challenges faced over the years in making the broadcasts happen and why they were originally scheduled for 3pm. I’ll even discuss the significance of the family photographs seen on the monarch’s desk during the message.
BUY MY BOOK (Find Your Irish Ancestors Online): amzn.to/3Z2ChnG
Website (with 2 FREE DOWNLOADS): historycallingofficial.com
Patreon: patreon.com/historycalling
Amazon storefront: amazon.com/shop/historycalling
Instagram: instagram.com/historycalling
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE:
The Windsors’ playlist
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLSjVq5Qtb0Hcobdqr28E9JREQ0D02wkO
Murder of George V
youtu.be/YZUhA6ZrAuA
Life of Elizabeth II
youtu.be/pIOBbBwvymA
Sandringham Time
youtu.be/r7GoGPbCUnc
Why are they called Windsor?
youtu.be/WmJbc2XY8BI
History of Buckingham Palace
youtu.be/ZRbvcoeX06g
LEARN MORE
The King’s Speech (2010 film) available at amzn.to/3zi2tAy
Christmas Broadcast transcripts, 1952 – present
royal.uk/the-christmas-broadcast#:~:text=King%20George%20had%20reigned%20since,now%20the%20BBC%20World%20Service
GEAR USED
Apple MacBook Pro Laptop (for video editing): amzn.to/3S6IoRK
DJI Drone: amzn.to/38h1vXr (UK LINK) OR amzn.to/39hROZm (US LINK)
Go-Pro Hero 10 camera: amzn.to/3EPIK9U (UK LINK) OR amzn.to/3rTWScL (US LINK)
GoPro 3-Way 2.0 (Tripod/Grip/Arm): amzn.to/37CdC1r (UK LINK) OR amzn.to/3vaVxjU (US LINK)
Memory Card: amzn.to/36QvcOQ (UK LINK) OR amzn.to/3KeLZZs (US LINK)
Microphone: amzn.to/3MFtoaK (UK LINK) OR amzn.to/3rYtjH8 (US LINK)
NB: Links above may be affiliate links. This means if you make a purchase through one of these links, I earn a small commission. It in no way affects the price you pay.
Open Street Map copyright information
openstreetmap.org/copyright
Creative Commons licenses used see creativecommons.org/licenses
#Christmasmessage #Christmasbroadcast #KingsSpeech #QueensSpeech
