Queen Elizabeth II sits in her stately rooms, awaiting to give her speech, new images show. Released ahead of the Queen’s speech on Christmas Day, the Monarch looks stately and dignified.
She has recorded her annual Christmas broadcast in Windsor Castle, Berkshire, in this year, opting for a blue gown.
She is also wearing the sapphire and diamond Prince Albert brooch, a present from Albert to Queen Victoria on the eve of their wedding in 1840.
The Queen is well aware of the eyes of the world, spending the majority of her life in the spotlight.
As such, she is likely to have thought long and hard about the contents of her speech.
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The day before their 1840 wedding the German prince gift his bride-to-be this piece.
It features a huge central sapphire with diamonds set around it.
She said of it in her diary it was a “splendid brooch, a large sapphire set round with diamonds, which is really quite beautiful.”
Victoria wore the piece on her wedding day with another set of sapphire jewellery.
Queen’s Christmas speech 2019 – when is it on and on what channel?
This year’s Christmas speech will be watched by millions – as it is every year.
It is on a number of channels, including BBC One, on Christmas Day.
The Queen’s Christmas Message will be broadcast on December 25, 2019, at 3pm on BBC1, ITV, Sky 1 and Sky News.
It will also be on BBC Radio 4, the Royals’ YouTube channel, on iPlayer and it can be downloaded as a podcast. The speech lasts around 10 minutes.