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The Christmas Broadcast made by HM Queen Elizabeth II on 25 December 1996.

To look back is not necessarily to be nostalgic. When I come to Sandringham each year, I like to reflect on what Christmas must have been like when King Eward VII, my great-grandfather, and Queen Alexandra first came here as young parents.

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 same traditions.

Christmas is the celebration of the birth of the founder of the Christian faith, an event which took place almost 2000 years ago; every year, at this time, we are asked to look back at that extraordinary story and remind ourselves of the message which inspired Christ’s followers then, and which is just as relevant today.

At Christmas I enjoy looking back on some of the events of the year. Many have their roots in history but still have a real point for us today. I recall, especially, a dazzling spring day in Norwich when I attended the Maundy Service, the Cathedral providing a spectacular setting.

The lovely service is always a reminder of Christ’s words to his disciples: “Love one another; as I have loved you”. It sounds so simple yet it proves so hard to obey.

In June came the Trooping the Colour, a vivid reminder of this country’s proud military tradition, and of the discipline and dedication which our servicemen and women show in their taxing tasks of peace-keeping in many distant parts of the world.

Then, in October, I opened Parliament. This is not just a State occasion, but also a symbol of the process of parliamentary democracy which we enjoy here in Britain, and in so many countries of the Commonwealth. It is a process which seeks to express the ideal of the equality of all citizens under the law.

So, the past, with its traditions, has its lessons for us in 1996. And this year, in our travels, Prince Philip and I have also been looking to the future. I and all my family have always felt that one of our most important duties is to express, in our visits overseas, the goodwill of our country towards friends abroad, near and far.

So, last spring, we visited Poland and the Czech Republic, where we saw the development of democracy and prosperity in countries which only recently were communist-governed. And everywhere we received the best of welcomes. In the autumn we went to Thailand, where we renewed old friendships and witnessed the blending of tradition with a dynamic commercial spirit.

There was also a happy visit to this country by the President of France. And I shall never forget the State Visit of President Mandela. The most gracious of men has shown us all how to accept the facts of the past without bitterness, how to see new opportunities as more important than old disputes and how to look forward with courage and optimism.

His example is a continuing inspiration to the whole Commonwealth and to all those everywhere who work for peace and reconciliation.

This, I know, has been a difficult year for many families. Discord, sickness, bereavement, even tragedy have touched all too many lives. We recall, with sadness and bewilderment, the horror of Dunblane and Port Arthur. We watch anxiously as violence threatens again to disrupt the lives of the people of Northern Ireland.

In difficult times, it is tempting for all of us, especially those who suffer, to look back and say “if only”. But to look back in that way is to look down a blind alley. Better to look forward and say “if only”.

If only we can live up to the example of the child who was born at Christmas with a love that came to embrace the whole world. If only we can let him recapture for us that time when we faced the future with childhood’s unbounded faith.

Armed with that faith, the New Year, with all its challenges and chances, should hold no terrors for us, and we should be able to embark upon it undaunted.

My family joins me in wishing each one of you a very Happy Christmas.

The Christmas Broadcast made by HM Queen Elizabeth II on 25 December 1997.

At the Christian heart of this United Kingdom stands Westminster Abbey, and it was right that it provided the setting for two events this year – one of them almost unbearably sad, and one, for Prince Philip and me, tremendously happy.

Joy and sadness are part of all our lives. Indeed, the poet William Blake tells us that:

“Joy and woe are woven fine,
A clothing for the soul divine,
Under every grief and pine
Runs a joy with silken twine.”

This interweaving of joy and woe has been very much brought home to me and my family during the last months. We all felt the shock and sorrow of Diana’s death.

Thousands upon thousands of you expressed your grief most poignantly in the wonderful flowers and messages left in tribute to her. That was a great comfort to all those close to her, while people all around the world joined us here in Britain for that service in Westminster Abbey.

But Prince Philip and I also knew the joy of our Golden Wedding. We were glad to be able to share this joy at Buckingham Palace with many other couples, who are celebrating their 50th anniversary this year.

Then, on our own anniversary day, came a very different service at Westminster Abbey, this time the “silken twine”, a service of thanksgiving for our 50 happy years together. After that service we had a chance to meet and chat to so many different people.

I will never forget that day, nor a day five years ago when Windsor Castle suffered a terrible fire. More than a hundred rooms were badly damaged. But out of the disaster came opportunities for all sorts of people to display their range of skills, their love of history, and their faith in the future.

Last month the restoration of the Castle was completed and it is shortly to be open again for all to see. It is a mixture of the original with later additions and alterations – and, the result, a vigorous blend of the old and the new.

And so it has been in the Commonwealth. Prince Philip and I were touched by the way the Canadian people welcomed us again to Canada. We were delighted to be invited to Pakistan and India on the 50th anniversary of their Independence, and to celebrate their achievements since 1947.

The Prince of Wales represented Britain when the people of Hong Kong marked their return to China – in spectacular fashion. Many of you might have felt a twinge of sadness as we in Britain bade them farewell, but we should be proud of the success of our partnership in Hong Kong and in how peacefully the old Empire has been laid to rest.

Out of the old Empire sprang the Commonwealth family of nations that we know today, and that, too, has grown and changed over the years.

In October, 51 representatives of Commonwealth governments met in Edinburgh, very much in the spirit of a family gathering. We all enjoy meeting old friends and making new ones, but there was also important business to be done. The world saw that the Commonwealth can make a major contribution to international relations and prosperity.

The meeting also showed that unity and diversity can go hand in hand. Recent developments at home, which have allowed Scotland and Wales greater say in the way they are governed, should be seen in that light and as proof that the kingdom can still enjoy all the benefits of remaining united.

Being united – that is, feeling a unity of purpose – is the glue that bonds together the members of a family, a country, a Commonwealth. Without it, the parts are only fragments of a whole; with it, we can be much more than the sum of those fragments.

For most of us this is a happy family day. But I am well aware that there are many of you who are alone, bereaved, or suffering. My heart goes out to you, and I pray that we, the more fortunate ones, can unite to lend a helping hand whenever it is needed, and not ‘pass by on the other side’.

St Paul spoke of the first Christmas as the kindness of God dawning upon the world. The world needs that kindness now more than ever – the kindness and consideration for others that disarms malice and allows us to get on with one another with respect and affection.

Christmas reassures us that God is with us today. But, as I have discovered afresh for myself this year, he is always present in the kindness shown by our neighbours and the love of our friends and family.

God bless you all and Happy Christmas.

The Christmas Broadcast made by HM Queen Elizabeth II on 25 December 1998.

Christmas is a time for reflection and renewal. For Christians the year’s end has a special and familiar significance, but all faiths have their calendars, their sign-posts, which ask us to pause from time to time and think further than the hectic daily round. We do that as individuals, with our families, and as members of our local communities.

It is not always easy for those in their teens or twenties to believe that someone of my age – of the older generation – might have something useful to say to them. But I would say that my mother has much to say to me.

Indeed, her vigour and enjoyment of life is a great example of how to close the so-called generation gap. She has an extraordinary capacity to bring happiness into other people’s lives. And her own vitality and warmth is returned to her by those whom she meets.

But there are many of my mother’s generation still with us. They can remember the First World War. Prince Philip and I can recall only the Second.

I know that those memories of ours define us as old, but they are shared with millions of others, in Britain and the Commonwealth, people who often feel forgotten by the march of time. They remember struggles unknown to young people today, and which they will not forget. Nor should their countries forget them.

Memories such as these are a consequence of age, and not a virtue in themselves. But with age does come experience and that can be a virtue if it is sensibly used. Though we each lead different lives, the experience of growing older, and the joys and emotions which it brings, are familiar to us all.

It is hard to believe that a half century has passed since our son Charles was christened, and now, last month, he has celebrated his fiftieth birthday. It was a moment of great happiness and pride on our part in all he has achieved during the last three decades.

As a daughter, a mother and a grandmother, I often find myself seeking advice, or being asked for it, in all three capacities. No age group has a monopoly of wisdom, and indeed I think the young can sometimes be wiser than us. But the older I get, the more conscious I become of the difficulties young people have to face as they learn to live in the modern world.

We parents and grandparents must learn to trust our children and grandchildren as they seize their opportunities, but we can, at the same time, caution and comfort if things go wrong, or guide and explain if we are needed.

My own grandchildren and their generation have a remarkable grasp of modern technology. They are lucky to have the freedom to travel and learn about foreign cultures at an age when the appetite for learning is keen. I see them pushing out the boundaries of science, sport and music, of drama and discovery.

Last June Prince Philip and I gave a party for 900 of Britain’s Young Achievers. Buckingham Palace was brimming with young people who, in their short lives, have already set an example to us all: they are living proof that the timeless virtues of honesty, integrity, initiative and compassion are just as important today as they have ever been.

We hear much of ‘public life’ – the hurly-burly of Parliament, the media, big business, city life. But for most people their contribution, at whatever age, is made quietly through their local communities just like so many of those Young Achievers. To most of them, service is its own reward. Their ‘public life’ is their church, their school, their sports club, their local council.

My work, and the work of my family, takes us every week into that quiet sort of ‘public life’, where millions of people give their time, unpaid and usually unsung, to the community, and indeed to those most at risk of exclusion from it.

We see these volunteers at work in organisations such as the Scouts and Guides, the Cadet Force, the Red Cross and St. John’s, The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Scheme and The Prince’s Trust.

These organisations, and those who serve them so selflessly, provide the bridges across which the generations travel, meet and learn from one another. They give us, with our families, our sense of belonging.

It is they that help define our sense of duty. It is they that can make us strong as individuals, and keep the nation’s heartbeat strong and steady too. Christmas is a good time for us to recognise all that they do for us and to say a heartfelt thank you to each and every one of them.

Happy Christmas to you all.