Christmas Broadcast 1959
Published
As the old year passes, let us celebrate Christmas with thanksgiving and carry its message of peace and good will into the year ahead.
The Queen's Christmas Broadcast in 1959 took the form of a prerecorded radio message instead of a television broadcast. The Queen was pregnant with her third child, Prince Andrew, who was born the following February.
I do not want Christmas to pass by without sending my best wishes for a happy day to all of you who may be listening, and especially to my own peoples in the Commonwealth.
Wherever you are and whatever you may be doing, you have my constant interest and affection.
I am particularly grateful to the many kind people all over the world who have sent me their good wishes at this time. I am glad to have this chance to thank you all very warmly indeed.
As the old year passes, let us celebrate Christmas with thanksgiving and carry its message of peace and good will into the year ahead.
All of us at Sandringham wish you a very happy Christmas.
May God bless you all.
Related content
Arrangements for The Queen's Christmas Broadcast to the Commonwealth
Update on The Queen's progress following her knee operation
Fairmont Hotel in Vancouver, Canada, 7 October 2002
Je chéris ma place dans la vie du Canada et mon lien avec tous les Canadiens et Canadiennes.
Tri-Service gathering of the Armed Forces at Portsmouth, 27 June 2002
Britain is grateful to you, whether here in Portsmouth, in bases across the United Kingdom, or across the world.
A speech by The Queen on her Golden Jubilee
I hope that these celebrations will remind us of our shared heritage and what it means to be a united people, enjoying the support of families, friends and neighbours around...
The death of Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother, 8 April 2002
I thank you for the support you are giving me and my family as we come to terms with her death and the void she has left in our midst.
Christmas Broadcast 2001
For Christmas marks a moment to pause, to reflect and believe in the possibilities of rebirth and renewal.
Christmas Broadcast 2000
By any measure this Millennium year has been an unforgettable one.
Christmas Broadcast 1999
This December we are looking back not just on one year, but on a hundred years and a thousand years.
Christmas Broadcast 1998
Though we each lead different lives, the experience of growing older, and the joys and emotions which it brings, are familiar to us all.
A speech by The Queen on her Golden Wedding Anniversary
He has, quite simply, been my strength and stay all these years.
A speech by The Queen following the death of Diana, Princess of Wales
May those who died rest in peace and may we, each and every one of us, thank God for someone who made many, many people happy.
Christmas Broadcast 1996
I remember my own childhood Christmases here, with my father and mother, and a great family gathering, and now I delight in seeing my children and grandchildren enjoying the...
Christmas Broadcast 1995
But I cannot think of any Christmas of my reign when the message of the angels has been more apt.
Christmas Broadcast 1954
So, our Commonwealth hearth becomes more precious than ever before by the contrast between its homely security and the storm which sometimes seems to be brewing outside, in...
Christmas Broadcast 1994
To see British and Russian veterans standing together, in memory of the sacrifices of their comrades-in-arms, was a moving experience.
Christmas Broadcast 1992
I first came here for Christmas as a grandchild. Nowadays, my grandchildren come here for the same family festival.
A speech by The Queen on the 40th Anniversary of her succession (Annus horribilis speech)
1992 is not a year on which I shall look back with undiluted pleasure.
Christmas Broadcast 1991
I am constantly amazed by the generosity of donors and subscribers, great and small, who give so willingly and often towards the enjoyment of others.
Christmas Broadcast 1990
I hope that all of us lucky enough to be able to enjoy such gatherings this Christmas will take time to count our blessings.
Christmas Broadcast 1989
Unlike all the other planets in the solar system, earth shimmers green and blue in the sunlight and looks a very pleasant place to live.
Christmas Broadcast 1988
May the Christmas story encourage you, for it is a message of hope every year, not for a few, but for all.
A speech by The Queen to mark Australia's bicentenary
More than ten thousand men and women can take great pride in the parts they have played in the creation of this symbol of Australian unity and democracy.
Christmas Broadcast 1987
I hope we will all help each other to have a happy Christmas and, when the New Year comes, resolve to work for tolerance and understanding between all people.
Christmas Broadcast 1986
There are many serious and threatening problems in this country and in the world but they will never be solved until there is peace in our homes and love in our hearts.
Christmas Broadcast 1985
These success stories are often pushed into the background but they are the guarantee of our future.
Christmas Broadcast 1984
But friendship, whether we are talking of continents or next door neighbours, should not need strife as its forerunner.
Christmas Broadcast 1983
I hope that Christmas will remind us all that it is not how we communicate but what we communicate with each other that really matters.
Christmas Broadcast 1982
Throughout history, seamen all over the world have shared a common experience and there is a special sense of brotherhood between merchant and naval seamen, fishermen...
Christmas Broadcast 1981
All around us we see these acts of selflessness, people putting the life of someone else before their own.
Christmas Broadcast 1980
I come across examples of unselfish service in all walks of life and in many unexpected places.
Christmas Broadcast 1979
Today we celebrate the birth of the child who transformed history and gave us a great faith.
Christmas Broadcast 1978
My grandfather, King George V, started the tradition of the Christmas Day Broadcasts back in 1932.
A speech by The Queen to Parliament on her Silver Jubilee
Perhaps this Jubilee is a time to remind ourselves of the benefits which union has conferred, at home and in our international dealings, on the inhabitants of all parts of...
Christmas Broadcast 1976
Remember that good spreads outwards and every little does help.
Christmas Broadcast 1973
I believe that Christmas should remind us that the qualities of the human spirit are more important than material gain.
Christmas Broadcast 1971
The Christmas message is really one for all seasons and not just for one day of the year.
Christmas Broadcast 1970
Never before has there been a group of independent nations linked in this way by their common history and continuing affection.
Christmas Broadcast 1969
In a short time the 1960s will be over but not out of our memories. Historians will record them as the decade in which men first reached out beyond our own planet and set foot...
Christmas Broadcast 1968
At times it is almost hidden by the merry making and tinsel, but the essential message of Christmas is still that we all belong to the great brotherhood of man.