Queen Elizabeth expresses her admiration to young generation’s activism
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Queen Elizabeth she was impressed by young people’s dynamism towards fighting environmental destruction.
“The challenges many people face today may be different to those once faced by my generation,” said the 93-year-old monarch, who was a teenager during World War Two. “But I have been struck by how new generations have brought a similar sense of purpose to issues such as protecting our environment and our climate”, she said.
During her annual address the Queen acknowledged the “bumpy” path her family and the country has faced during the past 12 months, but mentioned some of the positives like the birth of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s first child.
She also marked the many anniversaries of the year, including the moon landing and D-Day, noting her father’s “look of concern” about the plans, when he “could share that burden with no one”.
She said: “As a child, I never imagined that one day a man would walk on the moon. Yet this year we marked the 50th anniversary of the famous Apollo 11 mission.
“As those historic pictures were beamed back to Earth, millions of us sat transfixed to our television screens, as we watched Neil Armstrong taking a small step for man and a giant leap for mankind – and, indeed, for womankind. It’s a reminder for us all that giant leaps often start with small steps.”
She highlighted how often “small steps, not the giant leaps” bring about lasting change in the world – the theme of her Christmas Day broadcast.
The Queen said the Christmas message of peace and goodwill still has relevance today – a comment which follows a year of bitter debates in Parliament and the country over Brexit.
She said the message was a reminder of what can be achieved when people abandon their differences and “come together in the spirit of friendship and reconciliation”.
The Queen also spoke about personal joy, describing how she and the Duke of Edinburgh were “delighted” to welcome an eighth great-grandchild to their family – Harry and Meghan’s son Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor – born 200 years after Queen Victoria.
As the Queen spoke viewers saw a photograph, released a few days after Archie’s birth on May 6, which captured the moment she and the Duke of Edinburgh saw Archie for the first time as his proud parents and grandmother Doria Ragland looked on.
The Christmas message, produced by the BBC, was recorded in Windsor Castle’s green drawing room after the General Election but before Philip was admitted to a private London hospital for treatment for a pre-existing but undisclosed condition.
