Queen focuses on belief

The Queen's message was broadcast around the world

The Queen has outlined the importance of her own faith, and religion in general, in her millennium Christmas broadcast.

In her traditional speech to the UK and Commonwealth, the Queen spoke of what the millennium celebrations meant to her personally.

She said: "To many of us, our beliefs are of fundamental importance.

"For me, the teachings of Christ and my own personal accountability before God provide a framework in which I try to lead my life."

The Queen spoke from Buckingham Palace

She stressed the importance of spirituality for people of all faiths.

"This spirituality can be seen in the teachings of other great faiths.

"Of course, religion can be divisive, but the Bible, the Koran and the sacred texts of the Jews and Hindus, Buddhists and Sikhs, are all sources of divine inspiration and practical guidance passed down through the generations."

The speech, broadcast on international news networks, and live on the internet, was seen by an audience running into millions around the world.

'Unforgettable' year

It featured footage of the Queen's year, which she described as "unforgettable". including her meeting with the Pope at the Vatican, the visit of President Clinton to Buckingham Palace, and her tour of the Millennium Dome.

She described her pleasure at visiting millennium projects around the country "which will be reminders for generations to come of the time when the 21st century began."

The broadcast also featured footage of a Palace reception for Britain's Olympians, showing gold medallists Steve Redgrave and Denise Lewis.

The Queen's visits to Newcastle and Sunderland, and London's East End, where she met a former homeless woman in her new flat, also featured.

For me, the teachings of Christ and my own personal accountability before God provide a framework in which I try to lead my life

The Queen

Prince William, 18, was pictured twice - in Cardiff, for a Millennium Service, and in Chile, during his university gap-year, chopping wood.

His father, the Prince of Wales, was featured also in Cardiff and on the set of the long-running TV soap, Coronation Street.

The Queen Mother was shown celebrating her 100th birthday and the Royal Ulster Constabulary was featured receiving the George Cross in Belfast.

But religion remained the main focus of the speech, with the Queen outlining the importance of Christ's life even in "our very material age".

"The true measure of Christ's influence is not only in the lives of the saints", she said, "but also in the good works quietly done by millions of men and women day in day out through the centuries."