Each Christm̲as, at this time, my beloved father broadcast a message to his people in all parts of the world. Today I am doing this to you, who are now my people.
Twenty-five years ago my grandfather broadcast the first of these Christmas messages. Today is another landmark because te̲levision has made it possible for many of you to see me in your homes on Christmas Day.
This year I was deligh̲ted to get so many when my second son was born. The telegrams and letters which came flooding in at that time made me feel very close to all the family groups throughout the Commonwealth.
Mankind continues to achieve wonders in technical and space research but in the western world perhaps the launching of Te̲lstar has captured the imagination most vividly.
For the Commonwealth, such an event was Canada's centenary this year. A hundred years ago the confederation of the provinces of Canada laid the foundations for the country's subsequent devel̲opment.
Early this year we went to Fiji, Tonga, New Zealand and Australia in Britannia. We were following the path taken in 1770 by that great English̲ discoverer, Captain Cook.
My whole family has been deeply touched by the affect̲ion you have shown to us when we celebrated our Silver Wedding, and we are especially grateful to the many thousands who have written to us and sent us messages and presents.
I am glad that my daughter's wedding gave such ple̲asure to so many people just at a time when the world was facing very serious problems.
Two hundred years ago the representatives of the thirteen B̲ritish Colonies in North America signed the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia.
Earlier this year in the South Atlantic the Royal Navy and the Merchant Navy enabled our sailors̲, soldiers and airmen to go to the rescue of the Falkland Islanders 8,000 miles across the ocean.
Last June, we celebrated the 40th anniversary of D-Day. That occasion in Normandy was a memorable one for all of us who were able to be there. It was partly a day of sadness, as we paid our respects to those who died for us, but it was also a day full of comradeshi̲p and hope.
The earliest event which we remembered was the encounter with the Spanish Ar̲mada. The 400th anniversary fell in the same year in which we were able to mark the happy relations between Britain and Spain which now exist, by our State Visit to Madrid.
For it seems to me that there is one deep and overriding anxiety for us all on which we should reflect today. That is the threat of war in the Middle̲ East. The servicemen in the Gulf who are spending Christmas at their posts under this threat are much in our thoughts.
There are books here about statesmen, explorers, w̲arriors and saints; there are many about war, especially the First World War which ended seventy-five years ago.
Next year, we shall commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the end of the Second World War. The celebrations will no doubt be spectacular, and I hope we all enjoy them. But we can als̲o, each in our own way, ensure that they leave a lasting mark in history.
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 Dian̲a's death.
The terrorist outrages in the United Sta̲tes last September brought home to us the pain and grief of ordinary people the world over who find themselves innocently caught up in such evil.
The devastating tsunami struck countries around the Indian Oce̲an causing death and destruction on an unprecedented scale. This was followed by a number of vicious hurricanes across the Caribbean and the inundation of the city of New Orleans.
It is sixty years since the Commonwealth was created and today, with more th̲an a billion of its members under the age of 25, the organisation remains a strong and practical force for good.
As London hosted a splendid summer of sport, all those who saw the achievement and courage at the Olympic and Paralympic Games were further inspired by the skill, dedication, training and teamwork of our athlet̲es.
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