LONDON — British Queen Elizabeth II called for “reconciliation” in her annual Christmas broadcast delivered on Thursday afternoon.
She cited Scottish referendum, Northern Ireland, as well as the Christmas truce between German and British soldiers on Christmas day 1914 to highlight the importance of reconciliation between people.
“Sometimes it seems that reconciliation stands little chance in the face of war and discord. But, as the Christmas truce a century ago reminds us, peace and goodwill have lasting power in the hearts of men and women,” she said.
The Queen also hailed the medical workers who helped fight Ebola in Africa.
“Bringing reconciliation to war or emergency zones is an even harder task, and I have been deeply touched this year by the selflessness of aid workers and medical volunteers who have gone abroad to help victims of conflict or of diseases like Ebola, often at great personal risk,” she said.
The Queen made her first Christmas broadcast in 1952, live on the radio from her study at Sandringham.
Her first televised message came five years later and she has only missed one year, 1969, when she decided the royals had featured enough on TV after an unprecedented documentary.