Queen Elizabeth II will describe 2019 as “quite bumpy” in her traditional Christmas Day message, after a year of crises which saw Britain divided over its impending exit from the European Union and her son Prince Andrew forced to withdraw from public life.
The 93-year-old monarch, whose husband Philip is receiving treatment in hospital, will use her televised address on Wednesday to reflect on the need for reconciliation.
The royal family was swept up in scandals that included a calamitous BBC interview with the queen’s second son who tried to distance himself from American paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
The interview in which Andrew denied having sex with one of Epstein’s alleged victims was widely ridiculed and reportedly criticised within Buckingham Palace, forcing him to “step back from public duties”.
In a portion of her Christmas speech released in advance, the queen says the life of Jesus shows the importance of reconciliation.
It teaches “how small steps taken in faith and in hope can overcome long-held differences and deep-seated divisions to bring harmony and understanding,” she says.
“The path, of course, is not always smooth, and may at times this year have felt quite bumpy, but small steps can make a world of difference.”
