The Queen’s Speech： How Her Annual Christmas Broadcast Has Changed Over the Years

Every December 25， millions of people across the United Kingdom gather around their televisions to watch the Queen’s Christmas Broadcast （formally known as “Her Majesty’s Most Gracious Speech”）。She speaks from her living room in Buckingham Palace for only a few minutes。But in those few minutes， she talks about herself， her family， the Commonwealth。She may read a bible verse or a poem。And she ties it all together with a theme—reconciliation， service， inspiration—that reflects on the previous year and enlightens the next one。 每年的12月25日，全英國都有數百萬人聚集在電視機前觀看女王的聖誕廣播（正式名稱為“女王陛下最親切的講話”）。她在白金漢宮的客廳裡只說了幾分鐘話。但在這幾分鐘裡，她談到了她自己，她的家庭，英聯邦。她可能讀聖經節選或詩歌。她將這一切與一個主題——和諧、服務、鼓舞——聯絡在一起，這個主題反映了前一年，也啟發了下一年。

This Christmas marks the Queen’s 66th speech。A lot has changed since her first speech from Sandringham to her 2016 one from Buckingham Palace， and there have been many milestones during her six-decade broadcast reign。2018年，今年聖誕節是女王第66次發表講話。從她的第一次演講（從桑德靈厄姆到2016年的白金漢宮演講）到2016年的演講，她已經改變了很多。在她60年的廣播生涯中，有許多里程碑式的時刻。

1952

1952 was Queen Elizabeth’s first Christmas as Queen。It was also her first Christmas without her father。She made her first speech over the radio， sitting in his same chair and desk。（At that time， the speech was done at Sandringham。It would later switch to Buckingham Palace。） 1952年是伊麗莎白女王作為女王的第一個聖誕節。這也是她第一次沒有父親的聖誕節。她坐在他的椅子和桌子上，透過收音機發表了她的第一次演講。那時，演講是在桑德林漢姆莊園舉行的。它後來被換成了白金漢宮。

“Each Christmas， at this time， my beloved father broadcast a message to his people in all parts of the world。Today I am doing this to you， who are now my people，” she began。”My father， and my grandfather before him， worked all their lives to unite our peoples ever more closely， and to maintain its ideals which were so near to their hearts。I shall strive to carry on their work。”賀詞中，她說：” 每年聖誕節的這個時候，我親愛的父親都會向世界各地的人們傳播一個資訊。今天我要這樣對你們，你們現在是我的子民。”“我的父親和在他之前的祖父畢生致力於使我們兩國人民更加緊密地團結在一起，並維護他們心中的理想。我將努力繼續他們的工作。

She ended with a request for prayer—not for the country， but for herself， on her Coronation Day that June。“You will be keeping it as a holiday；but I want to ask you all， whatever your religion may be， to pray for me on that day—to pray that God may give me wisdom and strength to carry out the solemn promises I shall be making， and that I may faithfully serve him and you， all the days of my life。”在六月加冕的那天，她請求為自己祈禱——不是為國家，而是為她自己。“你將把它當作一個節日；但是我想問你們大家 ，無論你有什麼信仰， 請在那一天為我祈禱 ，祈禱上帝給我智慧和力量促進我去從事完成我所進行的莊嚴的承諾。我會用我一生所有的日子忠實地服務與他和你們。”

1957

Up until 1957， the Queen’s speech was audio only， both on radio and television。But thanks to some prodding by the BBC， and perhaps outspoken monarchy reformist Lord Altrincham， 1957 became the first year she televised her address。Richard Webber， head of outside broadcast at the time， wrote for The Guardian： “We asked the Palace if the Queen would consider reading the message live on television。She was a young monarch keen to enter into the spirit of the new era， and approved of the idea。”1957年以前，女王的講話只有音訊，廣播和電視都有。但在BBC的一些推動下，或許還有直言不諱的君主制改革人士奧特林查姆勳爵（Lord Altrincham）的諫言， 1957年成為她首次透過電視發表演講的一年。當時負責對外廣播的理查德·韋伯（Richard Webber）在給《衛報》（Guardian）的信中寫道：“我們詢問了白金漢宮，女王是否會考慮在電視上直播這條訊息。”她是一個年輕的君主，渴望進入新時代的精神，並批准了這個想法。

That Christmas， at 3：00 p。m。， people could see the Queen， her mannerisms， and inside her home。It’s often cited as one of the most important ways Queen Elizabeth has modernized the monarchy。But using a new medium presented unique challenges。“During her broadcast she refers to lines from John Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress， and picks up a book from her desk。The lines were printed on a sheet of paper inserted inside the book，” Webber recalled。“However， in the run-through， the Queen quickly spotted that it wasn’t the right book and asked whether there was a copy in the library。Sure enough， there was。I’m sure viewers wouldn’t have noticed but full marks to the Queen for thinking about it。”那個聖誕節，下午3點。在美國，人們可以看到女王，她的舉止，以及她的家裡。它經常被認為是伊麗莎白女王使君主制現代化的最重要的方式之一。但使用一種新媒體帶來了獨特的挑戰。在她的廣播中，她引用了約翰·班揚（John Bunyan）的《天路歷程》（The Pilgrim’s Progress）中的臺詞，從桌子上拿起一本書。這些線條被印在插入書中的一張紙上，”韋伯回憶說。然而，在瀏覽的過程中，女王很快發現這本書不合適，便問圖書館裡有手抄本。果然，有。我敢肯定觀眾們不會注意到，但女王想到了這一點，卻得了滿分。

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