Every year without fail, Her Majesty addresses the Commonwealth and the world delivering them a message of hope and peace.
It also gives the public a chance to a peek inside one very decked out and festive Buckingham Palace.
From every card to the delicate baubles hanging off the tree, Carol Golder is the women who ensures the annual message went off without a hitch.
After 22 years off making the palace look like Santa’s very own grotto, Carol is revealing how she made the Christmas reception fit for the Queen.
“The Palace would supply genuine cards for the spots closer to the Queen, but there were times when the cameras swept over a wider expanse so we had to bring our own,” she explained to the Sunday Times.
Queen Elizabeth II smiles to Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh just before the end of her first Christmas Day television speech on 25th December 1957.
The production guru recalled the time she accidentally confused the Queen’s private secretary, Lord Robert Fellowes, leaving him confused and wondering “who are John and Carol” after reading the cards.
Carol’s job is to also ensure there were no “unfortunate clashes”, in the camera frame “like a branch growing out of the monarch’s head.” This was made particularly difficult since she is an inch taller than the Queen.
Carol was also very similar height to The Queen so she would act as her body double for dummy takes.
The royal Christmas Day message has been a staple of British broadcasting ever since George V first took to the radio in 1932.
While the Queen’s main job is to remain impartial to political matters, her annual Christmas speech is the one time of year she can express her thoughts outside of the government’s control.
In fact, the 90-year-old takes great pride in writing the speech herself.
Be sure to watch The Queen’s speech on Christmas Day
Did you know Sir David Attenborough directed five of The Queen’s Christmas messages in the eighties when he was the head of the BBC.
