[Music] he is someone who doesn't take easily to compliments but he has quite simply been my strength and stay all these years and I and his whole family and this and many other countries owe him a debt greater than he would ever claim or we shall ever know although it's a time of great happiness and good cheer for many Christmas can be hard for those who have lost loved ones this year especially I understand why but for me in the months since the death of my beloved Phillip I have drawn great comfort from the warmth
and affection of the many tributes to his life and work from around the country the Commonwealth and the world his sense of service intellectual curiosity and capacity to squeeze fun out of any situation were all irrepressible that Mis inquiring twinkle was as bright at the end as when I first set eyes on him but life of course consists of final partings as well as first meetings and as much as I and my family miss him I know he would want us to enjoy Christmas we felt his presence as we like Millions around the world Reed
ourselves for Christmas while Co again means we can't celebrate quite as we may have wished we can still enjoy the many happy Traditions be it the singing of carols as long as the tune is well known decorating the tree giving and receiving presents or watching a favorite film where we already know the ending it's no surprise that families so often treasure their Christmas routines we see our own children and their families embrace the roles traditions and values that mean so much to us as these are passed from one generation to the next sometimes being updated
for changing times I see it in my own family and it is a source of great happiness Prince philli was always mindful of this sense of passing the battle that's why he created the Duke of edinburgh's award which offered young people throughout the Commonwealth and Beyond the chance of exploration and Adventure it remains an astonishing success grounded in his faith in the future he was also an early champion of taking seriously our stewardship of the environment and I am proud beyond words that his pioneering work has been taken on and magnified by our eldest son
Charles and his eldest son William admirably supported by Camila and Katherine most recently at the cop climate change Summit in Glasgow next summer we look forward to the Commonwealth Games the Batton is currently traveling the length and breadth of the Commonwealth heading towards Birmingham a Beacon of Hope on its Journey it will be a chance to celebrate the achievements of athletes and the coming together of like-minded Nations and February just 6 weeks from now we'll see the start of my Platinum Jubilee year which I hope will be an opportunity for people everywhere to enjoy a
sense of togetherness a chance to give thanks for the enormous changes of the last 70 years social scientific and cultural and also to look ahead with confidence I'm sure someone somewhere today will remark that Christmas is a time for children it's an engaging truth but only half the story perhaps it's trer to say that Christmas can speak to the child within us all adults when weigh down with worries sometimes fail to see the joy and simple things where children do not and for me and my family even with one familiar laugh missing this year there
will be joy in Christmas as we have the chance to reminisce and see a knew the Wonder of the festive season Through The Eyes of our young children of whom we were delighted to welcome four more this year they teach us all a lesson just as the Christmas story does that in the birth of a child there is a new dawn with endless potential it is this Simplicity of the Christmas story that makes it so universally appealing simple happenings that form the starting point of the life of Jesus a man whose teachings have been handed
down from generation to generation and have been the Bedrock of my faith his birth marked A New Beginning as the Carol says the hopes and fears of all the years are met in the tonight I wish you all a very happy [Music] Christmas still we see the light above th deep and Dre The Silence Stars [Music] by sh the [Music] Everlasting hopes and fears of all the are in the [Music] ton for Christ is born of Mary and [Music] all s the Angels ofing love togethera my holy and prais sing to God the king and
to Earth of bethle how still we see [Music] the th deep andam the silent stars go [Music] by the sh everting light the hopes and fears of all the ton thees andar of all the are in the [Music]
