Queen to deliver personal Christmas Day message following death of Philip
23 December 2021, 22:30 | Updated: 23 December 2021, 23:02
The Queen's first Christmas Day message since the Duke of Edinburgh's death is expected to be a very personal one - as a photograph is released ahead of her televised address.
It is the monarch's first festive period since Prince Philip's death aged 99.
A photograph released by Buckingham Palace shows her sat behind a desk in the White Drawing Room at Windsor Castle.
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She is accompanied by a single, framed picture of herself and Philip taken in 2007 at Broadlands country house, Hampshire, to mark their Diamond Wedding Anniversary.
The handout still shows the Queen wearing an embossed wool shift dress in Christmas red, by British designer Angela Kelly, as well as a sapphire chrysanthemum brooch which the then-Princess Elizabeth wore for a photocall on her honeymoon, also to Broadlands, in 1947, and for the couple's Diamond Wedding celebrations.
She is sat in front of an illuminated Christmas tree.
The duke died in April, while coronavirus restrictions at the time meant the Queen was memorably and poignantly forced to sit alone in St George's Chapel for his funeral service.
'Heartbreaking' to see HM alone at Duke of Edinburgh's funeral
The Queen is expected to be joined at Windsor Castle on Christmas Day by the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall, having shelved her customary trip to Sandringham as a "precautionary" measure amid rising coronavirus cases.
Her speech marks the end of a year peppered with both joy and immense sadness.
The Queen welcomed four new great-grandchildren to the family - August to Princess Eugenie, Lucas to Zara Tindall, Lilibet to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, and Sienna to Princess Beatrice.
Charles and Camilla to join Queen on Christmas Day
There was also scandal, following Harry and Meghan's bombshell interview with US chat show titan Oprah Winfrey in which they accused an unnamed royal of racism, as well as other allegations about the institution.
The royals also had to contend with allegations from Virginia Giuffre, who started legal action against the Duke of York for allegedly sexually assaulting her when she was a teenager. Andrew has repeatedly denied all claims.
The Queen used her 2020 Christmas broadcast to deliver a heartfelt message of hope to the country, praising the "indomitable spirit" of those who had risen "magnificently" to the challenges of the coronavirus pandemic.
The Queen's address to the nation will be broadcast across multiple channels at 3pm on Christmas Day.
