Her stare “playful”, his “familiar laughter”, his engagement “pioneer” for the environment … In her traditional Christmas address, Elizabeth II paid tribute, Saturday, December 25, to her late husband, Philip, who died on April 9 at the age of 99. “Although it is a time of great happiness and merriment for many people, Christmas can be difficult for those who have lost loved ones. This year I especially understand why”, said the Queen of the United Kingdom in this message, personal as rarely, recorded at Windsor Castle.
The 95-year-old monarch, however, claims to have “derived great comfort” of the many tributes she has received since the death of the Duke of Edinburgh.
“And for me and my family, even with one familiar laugh missing this year, there will be joy in Christmas, as we have the chance to reminisce…”
In her 2021 broadcast, The Queen reflects on the life of the Duke of Edinburgh, while looking ahead to her Platinum Jubilee in 2022. pic.twitter.com/IMf3aW4IxI
– The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) December 25, 2021
In this message, she appears seated behind a desk on which is posed a photo of her with her husband, taken in 2007 on the occasion of their diamond wedding anniversary, celebrating their 60 years of marriage, and wears a chrysanthemum brooch. in sapphire that she wore for her honeymoon in 1947.
Evoking with fondness Philip, with whom she was married for seventy-three years, the queen confides: “Although I miss him, and my family, I know he would like us to enjoy Christmas.” She then insists on the “joy” Of the party “despite the familiar laughter we miss”.
2021 will have been a difficult one for the nonagenarian sovereign, who after losing her husband has had to give up most of his commitments. Her doctors put her to rest after spending a night in hospital in October for unspecified reasons. In November, she had to cancel her visit to COP26, which was held in Glasgow, Scotland. In her speech, the Queen congratulated the “pioneering work” of Philip in favor of the environment was “taken back” by Charles and William, involved in the climate conference.
Those first end-of-year celebrations without Philip, whom she had described as “rock”, are overshadowed by the meteoric resurgence of Covid-19 cases in the United Kingdom. “Even though due to the Covid we cannot celebrate [Noël] just as we would have liked, we can still enjoy many happy traditions “ like singing a Christmas carol or decorating a tree, suggested Elizabeth II.
After canceling the traditional pre-holiday lunch she gives to around 50 members of her family, she has given up celebrating Christmas in Sandringham, in the east of England this year, staying at Windsor Castle near London , now his main residence. His eldest son, Charles, and the latter’s wife, Camilla, spend Christmas by his side, but not his daughter Anne, who has been isolating herself since her husband tested positive for the coronavirus. Prince William, Charles’s eldest son, his wife Kate and their three children are spending Christmas in the east of England.