Queen Elizabeth II used her Christmas message Friday to proclaim that light can triumph over darkness in these perilous times – and to comment on the joys of having a new great-granddaughter, Princess Charlotte.
Elizabeth, who this year became Britain’s longest-reigning monarch, acknowledged the difficult times the world faces but said there is no cause for despair, no reason to give up hope. The queen’s speech has been a tradition in Britain since Elizabeth first delivered a Christmas message live on radio in 1952.
The Queen began her conversation with Commander Lucy D’Orsi by quipping ‘oh, bad luck’ when a palace official described how the officer had been assigned as Gold Commander for the state visit of Chinese premier Xi Jinping in October.
During the discussion recorded by a BBC cameraman, the official was heard telling the Queen the police had been ‘seriously undermined by the Chinese’ in their handing of the visit, but the officer had managed to ‘hold her own’.
As Ms D’Orsi asked if she knew it had been a ‘testing time’, the Queen interjected: ‘I did.’ The officer described how Chinese officials walked out of a meeting with Barbara Woodward, British ambassador to China, at Lancaster House, telling them the trip was off.
The Queen said: ‘They were very rude to the ambassador.’ The remarks were recorded as the Queen greeted guests in the gardens of Buckingham Palace for an event marking her 90th birthday.
Princess Beatrice stood out from the crowd as she joined the Royal Family at a national service of thanksgiving for The Queen’s 90th birthday. The 27-year-old daughter of Prince Andrew chose a £2,995 black and white Burberry coat for the occasion attended by 53 royals including William, Kate and Harry and 2,000 members of the public.
Comments were posted online likening her dramatic outfit to a Storm Trooper, a Pearly Queen or an Alice in Wonderland character. Also making a bold fashion choice for the 90-minute service inside St Paul’s Cathedral was Prime Minister’s wife Samantha Cameron.
The Queen led the way in a primrose yellow Angela Kelly dress and matching hat. The service was, coincidentally, held on Prince Philip’s 95th birthday and crowds outside were keen to sing Happy Birthday as he and The Queen arrived - around 10 minutes late because of traffic.
During the service, which was broadcast live on BBC1, The Queen was praised for her “gentle constancy, royal dignity and kindly humanity” by the Dean of St Paul’s David Ison.
Queen Elizabeth II’s 90th birthday celebrations are still in full swing, and if she was upstaged by granddaughter Princess Beatrice on Friday, she was doubly upstaged by her great-granddaughter Princess Charlotte on Saturday.
The tiny one-year-old princess made her first-ever appearance at the annual Trooping the Colour ceremony in London on Saturday, much to the delight of royal enthusiasts everywhere.
The event, also known as the queen’s birthday parade, is famous for gathering the entire royal family together on the Buckingham Palace balcony — the site of a few famous kisses and other magical moments — to watch a fly-by from Royal Air Force jets. Prince William, Prince Harry, the Duchess of Cambridge, adorable Prince George and others were on hand.
We were gifted last weekend with a rare, all-our-favorite-players-are-here royal flush, as the Queen united with Prince William, Kate Middleton, Prince Harry, as well as Prince George and Princess Charlotte, for the Trooping the Colour ceremony, which celebrated the Queen’s birthday. The group stood on the Buckingham Palace balcony, waving to the collected masses, and marking Charlotte’s palace-balcony debut.
These sorts of formal events, of course, generally operate under strict guidelines, dictated by tradition. There is hand-waving on cue, and processions planned down to the second. So it is unusual, and pretty amusing, that now, in some footage that was cut by the BBC but which “showed up,” per Us Weekly, “in the ITN News broadcast,” we see that there was a decidedly unscripted moment that took place on that balcony between the Queen and her grandson.
In this clip, the Queen taps a crouching William (engaged, at the time, with George) on the shoulder, telling him to stand up. William quickly jumps up to attention, looking, as the Daily Mail put it, “rather sheepish over the public telling off.”