A tradition that began in 1932 the Royal Christmas Message (better known as The Queen’s Christmas Message) is a broadcast made by the sovereign of the Commonwealth realms to the Commonwealth of Nations each Christmas. Usually chronicling the year’s major events the Christmas Message is the only speech where the monarch does not take advice from her Ministers and is free to choose whatever theme she desires.
Initially put to King George V in 1922 by the “founding father” of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), John Reith, it would be another ten years before the King acquiesced and the very first Royal Christmas Message was delivered but who wrote it?.
Rudyard Kipling that’s who. Rudyard was suggested to the King by the then Prime Minister of Great Britain Ramsay MacDonald when the monarch expressed concern over presenting such a personal speech.
A resounding success and lauded for the use of beautiful language and the King’s gravelly speaking voice Kipling had produced a speech that touched on the advance of technology that had permitted the King to deliver an intimate message to all parts of the world. Such was the reception that the Royal Message would become an annual occurrence and even today any form of broadcast is embargoed before 3pm (GMT) when it appears on the BBC.
Here we have the very first Christmas Message, written by Kipling and read by King George V and the beginning of a modern tradition.
The Devil all the Time adaptation coming to Netflix
