Queen Elizabeth Pays Tribute To Late Husband Prince Philip During Christmas Speech — See Photo
Always with her. In a first look at Queen Elizabeth's Christmas speech, which will air on Saturday, December 25, at 3 p.m. GMT, the monarch, who wore a red top, posed next to a photo of herself with Prince Philip, who died in April at 99 years old.
In the snapshot, the 95-year-old is sitting at her desk in the White Drawing Room at Windsor Castle.
What's more important is that she is wearing a sapphire chrysanthemum brooch — the same one she wore on her honeymoon with the late Duke in 1947 and in 2007 when she celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary, which is the photo on her desk.
According to the BBC, the Queen's speech will be more "personal" this year.
Last year, the Queen spoke about the ongoing pandemic and how everyone's lives were changed in a blink of an eye.
"Remarkably, a year that has necessarily kept people apart has, in many ways, brought us closer," she stated. "In the United Kingdom and around the world, people have risen magnificently to the challenges of the year, and I am so proud and moved by this quiet, indomitable spirit."
"Of course for many, this time of year will be tinged with sadness — some mourning the loss of those dear to them and others missing friends and family members distanced for safety, when all they really want for Christmas is a simple hug or a squeeze of the hand," she added. "If you are among them, you are not alone, and let me assure you of my thoughts and prayers."
This year, Christmas will look a bit different as the Omicron variant is spreading rapidly throughout the world. As a result, she had to cancel her pre-Christmas lunch at Sandringham and is staying put at Windsor.
However, she won't be alone as Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall will be joining her, a Clarence House spokesperson confirmed.
"Obviously it's going to be much smaller and it's going to be similar to last year," Phil Dampier, who writes a weekly column for The Royal Observer, told The Sun. "Except obviously, the one big difference is that Prince Philip is not going to be there. It wouldn't surprise me if Prince Charles and Camilla, Prince Andrew and possible Prince Edward and Sophie Wessex and maybe some others — a small hard core of people — join her for lunch. But I think it's more likely to be a dozen people rather than the 30 or so up at Sandringham."
