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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Entertainment
Tom Herbert

What time is the Queen's Speech on Christmas Day and who writes the monarch's address?

The Queen delivered her 2018 Christmas Speech to millions of people (Picture: Getty)

Millions of people around the world are expected to tune in to watch the Queen's Speech on December 25.

Her Majesty's annual address to the nation is officially known as the Queen's Christmas Message and is one of the few occasions when the royal directly addresses the public.

First started by her grandfather King George V in 1932, the 2019 speech attracted more than 6.4 million viewers across four channels.

So what better way to digest the turkey you've over-indulged on than by watching the Queen deliver her Christmas message?

But what time is the Queen's Speech and who writes it? Here's all you need to know.

The Queen delivering the speech in 2016

What time is the Queen's Speech?

The Queen delivers her speech at the same time every year - 3pm (GMT) on Christmas Day, December 25.

Her speech is broadcast to all Commonwealth countries and covers the events concerning the last 12 months, typically lasting for around 10 minutes.

Since its inception, there have only been three occasions when no message was broadcast on radio or television - in 1936, 1938 and 1969.

The first speech was delivered by King George V from a makeshift studio in Sandringham House to an audience of 20 million people around the world.

The first televised message was broadcast by the Queen in 1952 but with sound only - it wasn't until 1957 that the televised address also included audio. The first broadcast in colour was in 1967.

It is no longer broadcast live, and is instead pre-recorded a few days before Christmas.

Who writes the Queen's Speech?

http://players.brightcove.net/1348423965/default_default/index.html?videoId=6112911511001

The Queen's annual televised message to the nation is one of the rare occasions when she does not turn to the Government for advice.

Unlike her predecessors, she doesn't use script writers and instead writes the Christmas address herself.

She sits down with advisors beforehand, and she uses the speech to reflect on the year gone by.

The first speech was written by Rudyard Kipling in 1932.

How to watch the Queen's Christmas Speech

The address will be broadcast on BBC One, ITV, Sky One and Sky News, and you can also listen to it on Radio 4.

The Christmas message is also shown live on the Royals' YouTube channel, Facebook and available as a podcast.

You can also stream the Queen's speech online via iPlayer.

What did she say in last year's speech?

The Queen mentioned the weddings of Prince Harry and Meghan and Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank, as well as Prince Louis' birth and Prince Charles' 70th birthday.

She referenced the 2018 Commonwealth Games, the centenary of the RAF and spoke of respecting each other despite holding differences.

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