the queen's speech 1957

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Queen Elizabeth’s First Televised Broadcast Presented a New Type of Monarch

By: Lesley Kennedy

Updated: November 28, 2023 | Original: September 13, 2022

King George V may have invented the tradition of delivering a Christmas Day message to the subjects of the British monarchy worldwide in 1932, but it was his granddaughter, Queen Elizabeth II , who first televised the annual event 25 years later.

While George’s speeches were radio broadcasts, as were Elizabeth’s first addresses from 1952-1956, her historic 1957 speech aired on live TV from her home in Sandringham. The broadcasts offered viewers a rare, humanizing glimpse inside her residence and at her mannerisms, while reaching a vast audience. In her first broadcast, Elizabeth also noted that the monarch’s role had shifted from ruler to one of symbolic support for the kingdom’s people.

“I very much hope that this new medium will make my Christmas message more personal and direct,” she said from the country house’s Long Library. “It is inevitable that I should seem a rather remote figure to many of you. A successor to the kings and queens of history; someone whose face may be familiar in newspapers and films but who never really touches your personal lives. But now at least for a few minutes, I welcome you to the peace of my own home.”

Alan Allport, a professor and historian at Syracuse University who specializes in the history of Britain in the period of the two world wars, says television was still a fairly new medium in 1957, with millions of people witnessing TV programming for the first time while watching the queen's coronation four years earlier.

“The idea of beaming the image of the monarch into ordinary people's homes represented a new kind of intimacy in the relationship between the Crown and the masses,” he says. “The royal family has long faced the difficult balancing act of maintaining the dignity and mystique of monarchy while also appearing to be approachable and possessing enough of the 'common touch.’ ”

In the televised speech—viewed in Great Britain alone by 16.5 million people , with another 9.5 million listening in on radio—Elizabeth remarked that, in the past, the British monarch led soldiers on battlefields, offering constant, personal leadership.

“Today things are very different,” she said. “I cannot lead you into battle, I do not give you laws or administer justice but I can do something else, I can give you my heart and my devotion to these old islands and to all the peoples of our brotherhood of nations.”

Christmas Message Beginnings

The first Christmas message from George V, ideated by BBC founder Sir John Reith and penned by poet Rudyard Kipling, reached 20 million listeners via BBC radio broadcast and received an extremely favorable response.

“I speak now from my home and from my heart to you all; to men and women so cut off by the snows, the desert, or the sea, that only voices out of the air can reach them,” George V began his two-and-a-half-minute remarks.

George VI carried on the holiday tradition in 1937, as shown in the movie “The King’s Speech.” ( Edward VIII, who abdicated the throne in less than a year, did not make a Christmas speech.) According to Royal.uk , the official website of the British royal family, there were no Christmas broadcasts in 1936 or 1938, but the outbreak of World War II prompted George VI to resume the tradition in 1939.

Since 1952, following her father’s death, Elizabeth delivered the message, something she continued to do every year except in 1969, when a printed version was circulated because a documentary on the royal family was scheduled during the holiday season.

Throughout her reign, the queen used the broadcasts to reflect on national, global and personal events, issues and concerns. Since 1960, the broadcasts, always aired at 3 p.m. in Great Britain, were pre-recorded so Commonwealth countries could run them at their preferred times.

A More Accessible Monarch

Despite its reception, the 1957 speech, according to Allport, followed a 1953 controversy about whether Elizabeth’s coronation should be televised, with some of the queen's advisors regarding the idea as vulgar and intrusive.

“Elizabeth herself had insisted on the presence of TV cameras to allow her subjects an unprecedented glimpse of the service,” he says. “She felt a modern democratic nation and Commonwealth needed a more accessible monarch. The 1957 Christmas broadcast was an extension of that greater visibility.”

However, that visibility had its limits, adds Allport, whose most recent book is Britain at Bay: The Epic Story of the Second World War 1938-1941 .

“The queen's children were not shown in the broadcast and would not appear for some years to come, despite popular demand to see them, as Elizabeth felt that was too great an intrusion into the family's private life,” he says.

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The Christmas Broadcast, 1957 Transcript

The first televised Christmas Broadcast or ‘Queen’s Speech’, filmed at Sandringham House in Norfolk. Read the transcript here.

Transcribe Your Own Content Try Rev and save time transcribing, captioning, and subtitling.

Speaker 1: ( 00:33 ) Happy Christmas. 25 years ago, my grandfather broadcast the first of these Christmas messages. Today is another landmark because television has made it possible for many of you to see me in your homes on Christmas Day. My own family often gather around to watch television, as they are at this moment. And that is how I imagine you now. I very much hope that this new medium will make my Christmas message more personal and direct. It’s inevitable that I should seem a rather remote figure to many of you, a successor to the kings and queens of history, someone whose face may be familiar in newspapers and films but who never rarely touches your personal lives. But now at least for a few minutes, I welcome you to the piece of my own home. That it’s possible for some of you to see me today is just another example of the speed at which things are changing all around us. Because of these changes, I’m not surprised that many people feel lost and unable to decide what to hold onto and what to discard, how to take advantage of the new life without losing the best of the old.

Speaker 1: ( 02:08 ) But it’s not the new inventions which are the difficulty. The trouble is caused by unthinking people who carelessly throw away ageless ideals as if they were owed and outworn machinery. They would have religion thrown aside, morality and personal and public life made meaningless, honesty counted as foolishness and self-interest set up in place of self-restraint. At this critical moment in our history, we will certainly lose the trust and respect to the world if we just abandon those fundamental principles which guided the men and women who built the greatness of this country and Commonwealth. Today, we need a special kind of courage, not the kind needed in battle, but a kind which makes us stand up for everything that we know is right, everything that is true and honest. We need the kind of courage that can withstand the subtle corruption of the cynics so that we can show the world that we are not afraid of the future. It has always been easier to hate and destroy. To build and to cherish is much more difficult.

Speaker 1: ( 03:38 ) That’s why we can take a pride in the new Commonwealth we are building. This year, Ghana and Malaya joined our brotherhood. Both these countries are entirely self-governing. Both achieved their new status amicably and peacefully. This advance is a wonderful tribute to the efforts of men of goodwill who have worked together as friends, and I welcome these two countries with all my heart. Last October, I opened the new Canadian Parliament. And as you know, this was the first time that any sovereign had done so in Ottawa. Once again, I was overwhelmed by the loyalty and enthusiasm of my Canadian people. Also during 1957, my husband and I paid visits to Portugal, France, Denmark and the United States of America. In each case, the arrangements and formalities were managed with great skill, but no one could have managed the welcome we received from the people. In each country, I was welcomed as head of the Commonwealth and as your representative. These nations are our friends largely because we’ve always tried to do our best to be honest and kindly and because we have tried to stand up for what we believe to be right.

Speaker 1: ( 05:22 ) In the old days, the monarch soldiers on the battlefield, and his leadership at all times was close and personal. Today, things are very different. I cannot lead you into battle. I do not give you laws or administer justice, but I can do something else. I can give you my heart and my devotion to these old islands and to all the peoples of our brotherhood of nations. I believe in qualities and in our strength. I believe that together, we can set an example to the world, which will encourage upright people everywhere.

Speaker 1: ( 06:11 ) I would like to read you a few lines from Pilgrim’s Progress because I’m sure we can say with Mr. Valiant-for-Truth these words. “Though with great difficulty, I am got hither. Yet now I do not repent me of all the trouble I have been at to arrive where I am. My sword I give to him, which will succeed me in my pilgrimage and my courage and skill to him that can get it. My marks and scars I carry with me to be a witness for me that I have fought his battles who now will be my rewarder.” I hope that 1958 may bring you God’s blessing and all the things you long for. And so I wish you all, young and old, wherever you may be all the fun and enjoyment and the peace of a very happy Christmas.

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How the Queen's First Televised Christmas Broadcast Changed the Royal Family Forever

Queen Elizabeth went live into millions of living rooms on Christmas afternoon in 1957.

On December 25th, Queen Elizabeth will deliver her 68th Christmas address as the British monarch. It will be the latest in a long tradition of holiday broadcasts, which began in their current form on December 25, 1957 .

The royal tradition , known as the King's Christmas Message, began in 1932, and the short address was an opportunity for the monarch to reflect on the year's major events and the royal family's personal milestones. Prior to 1957, it had been broadcast to the Commonwealth nations via radio, but that year, the Queen Elizabeth accepted the BBC’s request to read her remarks live on television from her quarters at Sandringham, her Norfolk estate.

Millions of people, sitting in their homes on the most sacred of family holidays, joined the Queen in her home for the first time.

In many ways, the evolution of the Christmas message mirrors the royal family's struggle to transform into a modern monarchy—to balance their roles as iconic figureheads with the insatiable thirst for information about their lives and relationships. Would they remain forever aloof and removed—or let the public in, little by little? With her first address, Queen Elizabeth made a convincing step toward openness. “I very much hope that this new medium will make my Christmas message more personal and direct,” she said as she read from the Long Library in Sandringham at 3 p.m.

“It is inevitable that I should seem a rather remote figure to many of you," the Queen added. "A successor to the Kings and Queens of history; someone whose face may be familiar in newspapers and films but who never really touches your personal lives. But now at least for a few minutes I welcome you to the peace of my own home.”

Although delivering the message to camera was a first for a British monarch, the Queen, who had given her first Christmas broadcast just five years earlier, was a pro.

“We had a run-through on the day and then went straight into the live broadcast,” Richard Webber, who was in charge of production, told The Telegraph . “The Queen was extremely accomplished with the teleprompter and read the message brilliantly.”

She also proved to be a stickler for details. During the historic moment, the Queen picked up a book and read a few lines from John Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress . “The lines were printed on a sheet of paper inserted inside the book,” Webber recalled. “However, in the run-through the Queen quickly spotted that it wasn’t the right book and asked whether there was a copy in the library. Sure enough, there was.”

Despite their success, the Queen’s live televised broadcasts didn’t last long. In 1960, the message was pre-recorded from Buckingham Palace. The process was more convenient for everyone involved, and it meant a film reel of the message could be sent to all Commonwealth nations well in advance of Christmas day.

This tradition has continued every year since, with the arrival of the first color broadcast in 1967. The only exception is 1969, when the Queen decided to write a Christmas message instead of broadcasting one. It was the year of Charles’s investiture as Prince of Wales , and she reportedly felt the family had had enough exposure for the moment.

The audience for the Christmas message has been in steady decline since its peak in 1980, the year before Charles and Diana's wedding, when it hit 28 million viewers in the UK. But that hasn't stopped the Crown from innovating. In 2006, when around 7.6 million Brits tuned in, the speech was made available for download as a podcast for the first time, and in 2012, Sky News produced the program in 3D. These days, viewers around the world can also catch the address through the royal family's Facebook and Youtube pages.

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1957 Christmas Broadcast

In 1957, Queen Elizabeth II made her first live televised Christmas broadcast from Sandringham House. It was an historic event, not least because this was the first time that the public could see and hear the queen thanks to what she described as the ‘new medium’ of television. Additionally, it took place on the 25th anniversary of the first Christmas broadcast made by her grandfather, King George V. Despite the technological advances and change that television introduced, The queen stressed the importance of maintaining the fundamental principles of religion, morality and honesty. Note the sprigs of holly disguising the microphone on the table.

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The Queen's Christmas speech: Looking back at the monarch's first televised address in 1957

Elizabeth ii overcame nerves to deliver live broadcast from sandringham on britain's moral compass, her own public image and the health of the commonwealth, article bookmarked.

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Queen Elizabeth II will deliver her 66th Christmas message to the nation on 25 December.

The monarch first picked up the tradition commenced by her grandfather, King George V, in 1952. George himself had taken to the airwaves for the first time 20 years earlier to address the British public, finally taking BBC director-general John Reith up on an idea he had proposed as early as 1922.

The Queen’s first five Christmas Day speeches were likewise broadcast on radio but, in 1957, she agreed to try something new: television.

As depicted in the Netflix show The Crown , the royal was moved to overcome her anxiety about the new medium in the interest of showing a more human side to her character.

She had been stung by an editorial written by Lord Altrincham in The National and English Review , in which the peer had cruelly attacked her public speaking by saying: “The personality conveyed by the utterances which are put into her mouth is that of a priggish schoolgirl, captain of the hockey team, a prefect, and a recent candidate for confirmation.”

The speech was duly broadcast live on the BBC from the Long Library at Sandringham at 3.07pm on 25 December 1957, as a nation sat back to sleep off its lunch.

The Queen perched at her father’s desk surrounded by framed photographs of her family – a young Charles sitting in a tree is visible at her elbow – and was dressed in a gold lamé gown, pearl necklace and dark lipstick.

Her discomfort was there for all to see, no matter how hard she fought to resist wringing her hands.

Her grandfather’s first Christmas speech had been written by Rudyard Kipling . Elizabeth too had help from an admired novelist, with Daphne du Maurier providing suggestions. But the final draft actually came from her husband, Prince Philip.

“Happy Christmas. Twenty-five years ago my grandfather broadcast the first of these Christmas messages,” she began, before reflecting on the novelty of the new technology.

“Today is another landmark because television has made it possible for many of you to see me in your homes on Christmas Day. My own family often gather round to watch television as they are this moment, and that is how I imagine you now.”

The Queen then indirectly addressed Lord Altrincham’s criticism of her austere public image.

“It is inevitable that I should seem a rather remote figure to many of you. A successor to the kings and queens of history; someone whose face may be familiar in newspapers and films but who never really touches your personal lives. But now at least for a few minutes I welcome you to the peace of my own home.”

Reflecting on the pace of contemporary progress, Elizabeth diagnosed a moment of national uncertainty and cautioned the British people against “unthinking people who carelessly throw away ageless ideals as if they were old and outworn machinery”.

“They would have religion thrown aside, morality in personal and public life made meaningless, honesty counted as foolishness and self-interest set up in place of self-restraint,” she said, with a surprising degree of bite.

Defending “fundamental principles”, she urged courage in the face of “the subtle corruption of the cynics” and said: “It has always been easy to hate and destroy. To build and to cherish is much more difficult.”

Turning her attention away from moral guidance to affairs of the Commonwealth , she welcomed newly independent Ghana and Malaya and discussed her visit to Ottawa to open the Canadian parliament and other visits abroad to Portugal, France, Denmark and the US over the course of the year.

The Queen then took a moment to consider the changing nature of her own role within society.

“In the old days the monarch led his soldiers on the battlefield and his leadership at all times was close and personal,” she observed.

“Today things are very different. I cannot lead you into battle, I do not give you laws or administer justice but I can do something else, I can give you my heart and my devotion to these old islands and to all the peoples of our brotherhood of nations.”

Concluding by reading aloud an inspirational passage from John Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress (1678), she signed off by wishing her subjects “all the fun and enjoyment, and the peace of a very happy Christmas” with a beaming smile.

The Queen would broadcast live on Christmas Day twice more before a switch to pre-recording at Buckingham Palace was made in 1960, allowing for mistakes to be corrected and for copies to be sent overseas in advance. The first colour version of her Christmas speech was aired on 25 December 1967.

Watching the annual broadcast became a tradition with many families and interest peaked in 1980, as Charles and Diana Spencer’s wedding approached, with 28m viewers tuning in.

Viewing figures are now closer to 8m but the Windsors have worked hard to keep up with changing times, making the Queen’s Christmas speech available as a podcast, broadcasting in 3D and streaming it on YouTube and Facebook.

“In many ways, the evolution of the Christmas message mirrors the royal family’s struggle to transform into a modern monarchy – to balance their roles as iconic figureheads with the insatiable thirst for information about their lives and relationships,” observed Kate Frost of Town & Country .

The Christmas broadcast continues to play a crucial role in building a relationship between the royals and the British people, something the Queen understood instinctively as early as 1957.

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Milestones of a Monarch: The Queen’s first televised Christmas Message

“Twenty-five years ago my grandfather broadcast the first of these Christmas messages. Today is another landmark because television has made it possible for many of you to see me in your homes on Christmas Day.”

The Queen uttered these words on Christmas Day 1957 during her first televised Christmas Message, broadcast live from the Long Library at the Sandringham Estate in Norfolk.

In 1932, King George V became the first monarch to deliver a Christmas Day message, using the radio to speak to his subjects around the world. By 1957, The Queen helped revolutionise the Christmas Message once more, granting the BBC’s request to televise her speech live from the library at Sandringham, where the Royal Family was spending its holidays.

The Queen spoke of the value of keeping old traditions while modernising, and how the new medium would provide a more personal touch to her yuletide reflections.

“It is inevitable that I should seem a rather remote figure to many of you. A successor to the Kings and Queens of history; someone whose face may be familiar in newspapers and films but who never really touches your personal lives. But now at least for a few minutes I welcome you to the peace of my own home,” she said.

“That it is possible for some of you to see me today is just another example of the speed at which things are changing all around us. Because of these changes I am not surprised that many people feel lost and unable to decide what to hold on to and what to discard. How to take advantage of the new life without losing the best of the old.”

The Queen had been used to giving her Christmas Message on radio, but was a pro at adapting to the new medium according to the man in charge of producing the segment. In an interview with The Telegraph , Richard Webber reminisced of the run-through they’d done just before going live, and how “The Queen was extremely accomplished with the teleprompter and read the message brilliantly.”

She also had a moment of stage management, when the book she was supposed to quote, The Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan wasn’t in her hands. Webber recalled that the lines had been typed out on a sheet of paper and inserted into the book she was holding, but when she noticed that it wasn’t the correct book, she asked if there was a copy in the library for her to switch to. “Sure enough, there was.”

The Queen’s Christmas Message in 1957 spoke of her relative youth and modernity compared to monarchs of the past, but in typical fashion, included a commitment to duty and service that, 70 years on from her accession day, have held strong.

“In the old days the monarch led his soldiers on the battlefield and his leadership at all times was close and personal.

“Today things are very different. I cannot lead you into battle, I do not give you laws or administer justice but I can do something else, I can give you my heart and my devotion to these old islands and to all the peoples of our brotherhood of nations.

“I believe in our qualities and in our strength, I believe that together we can set an example to the world which will encourage upright people everywhere.”

The Queen did not continue with live televised broadcasts for much longer; by 1959, her Christmas Message was a pre-recorded affair that allowed easier access of the tape for her various Commonwealth realms and nations.

Since 1957, The Queen has televised a Christmas Message every year except 1969, when, feeling like she was overexposed due to the Prince of Wales’s televised investiture and the release of the infamous Royal Family documentary, she wrote a message instead.

The Queen’s full 1957 Christmas Message can be read here .

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THE QUEEN'S SPEECH

§ The QUEEN, being seated on the Throne, and attended by Her Officers of State (the Lords being in their robes), commanded the Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod, through the Lord Great Chamberlain, to let the Commons know, "It is Her Majesty's pleasure they attend Her immediately in this House."

§ Who being come, with their Speaker:

§ Her Majesty was pleased to speak as follows:

§ "My Lords and Members of the House of Commons

§ "I look forward with much pleasure to the visit which His Excellency the President of the Italian Republic and Signora Gronchi will pay to this country next May.

§ "I and My Dear Husband have been most profoundly moved by our recent stay in Canada and our visit to the United States of America. The warmth of the welcome which greeted us wherever we went was spontaneous evidence of the bond of common sympathy which unites the peoples of the Commonwealth and the English-speaking world. It will be the constant endeavour of My Government to foster this unity of sentiment and purpose among the free peoples, that they may be confirmed in their resolve to defend the right and to sustain those values 2 on which our civilisation is founded. My Government have recently held discussions in Washington with the United States Government, the results of which, they confidently believe, will greatly further the achievement of this aim.

§ "My Government will seek to strengthen the United Nations in the task of maintaining justice and peace throughout the world. They will pursue their endeavours to achieve an agreement on disarmament, mindful that, at this momentous time, the advance of science into the unknown should be inspired by the hopes, and not retarded by the fears, of mankind.

§ "In accordance with their belief in responsible self-government by free peoples My Ministers will continue to promote the economic and constitutional development of the territories overseas which are in their care. They will introduce legislation to give effect to certain recommendations of the Conference held in April, 1957, about the future Constitution of Singapore. They will endeavour, in agreement with the Government of Malta, to further the plans for the closer association of Malta with the United Kingdom. They will continue to seek a just and enduring solution of the problems of Cyprus, in conformity both with the interests of the local communities and with those of this country and our Allies.

§ "Members of the House of Commons

§ "Estimates for the public services will be laid before you in due course.

§ "My Ministers are resolved to take all steps necessary to maintain the value of our money, to preserve the economic basis of full employment by restraining inflation, to strengthen our balance of payments and to fortify our reserves, upon which depends the strength of sterling and hence the strength of the sterling area as a whole. My Government believe that these are purposes which should command the support of all sections of the nation.

§ "My Government welcome the recommendation, made by the recent meeting of Commonwealth Finance Ministers in Canada, that a Commonwealth Trade and Economic Conference should be held in 1958. They consider that this would provide a valuable opportunity to reinforce still further the economic ties between the members of the Commonwealth. My Government also welcome the recent declaration by the Council of the Organisation for European Economic Co-operation of their determination to promote the establishment of a European Free Trade Area. It is the firm purpose of My Ministers to seek to bring these negotiations to a successful conclusion, and so to strengthen the resources of the free world.

§ "A Bill will be introduced to revise and codify existing legislation relating to import duties.

§ "My Ministers will continue to give support to agriculture and fishing. Legislation will be introduced to amend certain provisions of the Agriculture and Agricultural Holdings Acts and to improve agricultural drainage in Scotland. My Government have completed a comprehensive review of the emergency powers relating to land. They will propose the repeal of certain of these powers and their replacement so far as necessary, by statutory provisions.

§ "A measure will be laid before you to establish a Conservancy Authority for Milford Haven to regulate the increased maritime traffic which should result from the projected development of this important harbour.

§ "My Ministers will seek to promote the progressive development of the institutions of government in this country, to enlarge the opportunities for public service and to foster the sense of shared responsibility for the efficient discharge of the manifold functions of government.

§ "Thus legislation will be laid before you to establish machinery for the reorganisation of local government in England and Wales. This measure will also make adjustments in the rating system and in the system of Exchequer grants to local authorities. Separate legislation will be introduced for these two purposes in Scotland.

§ "You will also be invited to approve a measure to permit the creation of life Peerages for men and women, carrying the right to sit and vote in the House of Lords.

§ "My Government have considered with care the report of the Committee on Administrative Tribunals and Enquiries and will introduce legislation to give effect to certain of the recommendations of that Committee.

§ "My Ministers will continue to promote the social welfare of My people. A Bill will be introduced to improve the arrangements for the industrial rehabilitation, training and resettlement of disabled persons. War pensions will be increased; legislation wills be introduced to authorise increases in retirement and other benefits, and in contributions, under the National Insurance and Industrial Injuries schemes; and My Government will continue to study the wider problems of provision for old age. They will also introduce legislation amending the law relating to the adoption of children and providing for the supervision of those who take children into their care for payment. They will continue to pay particular attention to penal reform and the treatment of offenders, and they will develop improvements in the prison system in the light of an imaginative programme of research.

§ "Other measures will be laid before you in due course.

§ "My Lords and Members of the House Commons

§ "Three weeks ago I opened the Parliament of Canada. To-day, I open Parliament at Westminster, where our forefathers, many centuries ago, laid the first foundations of those institutions of Parliamentary democracy which peoples throughout the world have adopted as the guardian of their rights, their liberties and their hopes. From the New World I have brought a message of firm fellowship and the assurance of a common faith. Bearing in My heart the inspiration of that message, I pray that the blessing of Almighty God may rest upon your counsels."

§ House adjourned during pleasure.

§ House resumed at half-past three of the clock, The LORD CHANCELLOR on the Woolsack.

§ Prayers

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Queen Elizabeth's First Televised Christmas Speech (1957)

The Queen's Christmas Speech, 1957

Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh pose for a portrait at home in Buckingham Palace in December 1958 in London, England. (Photo by Donald McKague/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images) Image: Getty Images

This footage is from Queen Elizabeth's first ever televised Christmas broadcast.

Happy Christmas! 

Tis' the season and what better way to celebrate the day than by putting your feet up and watching the Queen's speech...From 1957!

Every year since 1952, the Queen would give an annual Christmas Broadcast to the Commonwealth, in which she reflects on the past year and looks ahead to the future. Since 1957, the broadcast has been televised, and the whole Royal Family is said to watch it together on Christmas Day.

The first speech to be televised will go down in history as an iconic moment for Queen Elizabeth, cementing herself in the public eye.

Have a look at the footage below, courtesy of The Royal Family YouTube channel

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Watch the Queen's very first televised Christmas message from 1957

It was filmed at Sandringham House in Norfolk

Back in 1957, Her Majesty's Christmas speech was televised for the very first time. The black-and-white seven-minute clip saw the Queen sat in the Long Library at Sandringham House in Norfolk, discussing highlights from her year.

For the first time in the UK , families across the country were able to watch the Queen's speech from the comfort of their own homes. This was something Her Majesty addressed in her talk, saying: "25 years ago, my grandfather broadcast the first of these Christmas messages. Today is another landmark, because television has made it possible for many of you to see me in your homes on Christmas Day."

Now a nationwide Christmas tradition, the Queen's speech is watched by millions on Christmas Day.

The first ever Christmas message was given by the Queen's grandfather, King George V, in 1932. The text was written by poet and writer Rudyard Kipling and included the words: "I speak now from my home and from my heart to you all." Since then, it's been a tradition many around the world make time to listen to on 25th December.

The Queen first gave her first Christmas speech in 1952, but it was something that was shared on the radio, instead of the television. Since the 1960s, the speech has always been pre-recorded, as the royal family spend Christmas Day together and decided to have it prepared in advance.

Much like every year, Her Majesty uses her speech to address global issues, challenges we have faced as a nation and the year's highlights, too.

This year, according to reports from The Metro , the Queen will acknowledge the "bumpy" path both the royal family and the nation has experienced this year. Read more here.

You can watch Her Majesty's 2019 Christmas Speech at 3pm on BBC One on Christmas Day.

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 Lisa Joyner is the Deputy Daily Editor at House Beautiful UK and Country Living UK , where she's busy writing about home and interiors, gardening , dog breeds , pets, health and wellbeing, countryside news, small space inspiration, and the hottest properties on the market. Previously, she has written for Conde Nast Traveller , House & Garden and Marie Claire magazine. Lisa studied at University For The Creative Arts, where she completed a BA in Fashion Journalism.  

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Merry Christmas to all of my readers! Later today, the Queen’s annual Christmas Speech will be broadcast in the UK and the Commonwealth. In honour of the occasion, we are featuring the Queen’s first televised Speech on this day in 1957. The scene was recently dramatized in Season 2 of Netflix’s The Crown .

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