Queen Elizabeth II has delivered her traditional Christmas broadcast, referencing reconciliation, World War I and … Game of Thrones.
Delighting the show’s fans around the world, the Queen mentioned her visit to the GoT set in Belfast back in June.
“The benefits of reconciliation were clear to see when I visited Belfast in June. While my tour of the set of Game Of Thrones may have gained most attention, my visit to the Crumlin Road Gaol will remain vividly in my mind,” she said in her prerecorded message.
“What was once a prison during the Troubles is now a place of hope and fresh purpose; a reminder of what is possible when people reach out to one another, rather like the couple in the sculpture.”
Reconciliation was a major theme of the Queen’s speech, prerecorded in the State Dining Room at Buckingham Palace.
She spoke about healing differences in Scotland after a divisive referendum that came close to splitting the United Kingdom this year.
She also celebrated progress towards peace in Northern Ireland, after a broad deal was signed by rival parties this week.
The Queen spoke on the 100-year anniversary of a spontaneous truce between warring soldiers in opposite trenches in World War I, adding that peace and goodwill have lasting power in the hearts of men and women.
Each year the Queen writes her own Christmas speech, which is prerecorded and televised in many parts of the world on the afternoon of Christmas Day. She made her first Christmas broadcast on radio in 1952.
The royals spent Christmas Day together at Sandringham where they attended a service at St Mary Magdalene Church.
The Queen and the Royal Family attended a church service on Christmas morning on the Queen’s Sandringham Estate, before enjoying a gala lunch.
While Prince William and Kate joined the gathering, they apologized to crowds for leaving Prince George at home.
Prince William and Kate left Prince George at home.Getty Images“I’m sorry we didn’t bring George but you would have heard him in the church,” Kate, sporting a tiny baby bump, told the crowd.
Prince Charles’ wife Camilla also did not attend because of a painful back injury suffered earlier this month, officials said.
The Queen arrived by car while the other Royals walked from her estate to the village church.
Hundreds of wellwishers lined the route to the church to exchange Christmas greetings with the royals.
Some shouted with glee as Prince Harry walked by. One visitor from Spain told reporters she had asked Harry to marry her.
William and Kate talked to the crowds briefly after the service when the Queen had left by car.
Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby cancelled his Christmas sermon because of a severe cold. In a statement he expressed “great regret” about his inability to preach his planned sermon about the true meaning of Christmas.
Church officials said the sermon at Canterbury Cathedral would instead be delivered by the Dean of Canterbury Robert Willis.
