THE QUEEN gave a touching tribute to new great-granddaughter Lilibet in her annual Christmas Day speech yesterday.
In the festive broadcast, Her Majesty, 95, celebrated the arrival of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s daughter this year, along with the births of August, Lucas and Sienna.
The Queen spoke of how Christmas is often seen as a “time for children”, but continued that this is only “half the story”.
She said: “Adults, when weighed down with worries, sometimes fail to see the joy in 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 anew 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.”
Meghan and Harry welcomed Lilibet on June 4, 2021, and they said in their Christmas card that she “made them a family”.
The card also gave royal fans a first glimpse of their daughter in an adorable family snap that also featured their son Archie, two.
Meanwhile, Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank welcomed baby August in February.
This was followed by Mike Tindall and Zara Tindall having their third child Lucas in March and Princess Beatrice and Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi having their first baby together, Sienna, in September.
In her Christmas broadcast, the Queen also celebrated her love for her late husband Prince Philip, who passed away on April 9, 2021.
This Christmas is the first for 73 years she won’t be spending with Prince Philip.
She made an emotional speech about how she misses his “mischievous twinkle” and his ability to “squeeze fun out of any situation”.
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The monarch fondly recalled his sense of fun but also said she was “proud beyond words” of his achievements.
The Queen said her late husband was an “early champion of taking seriously our stewardship of the environment”.
She talked about how Prince Philip’s legacy was being carried on by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.
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She said: “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 Camilla and Catherine – most recently at the COP climate change summit in Glasgow.”
But there was no mention of Meghan and Harry, who are now living in California after stepping from royal duties.
California-based Meghan and Harry named their daughter Lilibet after the Queen’s childhood nickname, but she is yet to meet her great-granddaughter.
We shared five hidden details in the Queen’s Christmas message revealed including sweet nod to Prince Philip.
Here is the Queen’s Christmas Day speech in full.
Meanwhile, Prince William & Kate Middleton share touching message to those in Covid isolation as they spend Xmas at Sandringham.
