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Queen's speech highlights year of joy and sadness

Poignant television pictures of Diana's sons, Prince William and Prince Harry, mourning their mother, were a reminder that the Queen included her own family among those suffering a loss this Christmas.

The Queen began her broadcast by bringing together the sadness of Diana's funeral and the joy of this year's royal golden wedding.

She said: "At the Christian heart of this United Kingdom stands Westminster Abbey, and it was right that it provided the setting for two events this year, one of them almost unbearably sad, and one, for Prince Philip and me, tremendously happy."

'Joy and sadness are part of all our lives'

A lover of poetry, the Queen quoted William Blake: "Joy and woe are woven fine, A clothing for the soul divine, Under every grief and pine runs a joy with silken twine."

She said: "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 Diana's death."

Speaking over video footage of the sea of flowers left outside Kensington Palace, the Queen said: "Thousands upon thousands of you expressed your grief most poignantly in the wonderful flowers and messages left in tribute to her. That was a great comfort to all those close to her."

The Prince of Wales, with William, 15, and Harry, now 13, were shown looking at the floral tributes.

Joy of golden wedding celebrations

The Queen, who filmed part of the broadcast in the White Drawing Room at Windsor Castle, then switched to happier memories and the "joy" of her golden wedding.

"We were glad to be able to share this joy at Buckingham Palace with many other couples, who are celebrating their 50th anniversary this year," she said.

And the Queen came closer than ever before to endorsing the devolution of power to Scotland and Wales, while at the same time reassuring the nation that, even if the political picture is changing, the kingdom remains united.

This year's televised Christmas message - the longest-ever at nine minutes 55 seconds - was screened, for the first time, in full around the world.

Relevant Stories

Royals gather for traditional service (25 Dec 97 | UK)
A princely sum of people take to Charles (24 Dec 97 | UK)

Internet Links

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The BBC's Diana tribute site

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