“Although it’s a time of great happiness and good cheer for many,Christmas can be hard for those who have lost loved ones,” the Queen said in the prerecorded message broadcast when many British families were enjoying their traditional Christmas dinner. “This year,especially,I understand why.”
“His sense of service,intellectual curiosity and capacity to squeeze fun out of any situation were all irrepressible,” she said,paying tribute to “my beloved Philip”.
“That mischievous enquiring twinkle was as bright at the end as when I first set eyes on him,” she said.
This festive season is the first since the monarch said goodbye to her husband of more than 70 years in a service in St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle. Coronavirus restrictions in place at the time meant that the Queen sat alone – a poignant reminder of how she would spend her life going forward.
Despite her own loss,the Queen said her family was a “source of great happiness,noting that she had welcomed four great-grandchildren this year.
“While COVID again means we can’t celebrate quite as we may have wished,we can still enjoy the many happy traditions,be it the singing of carols – as long as the tune is well known – decorating the tree,giving and receiving presents or watching a favourite film where we already know the ending,” she said. “It’s no surprise that families so often treasure their Christmas routines.”