As we prepared for Christmas, millions of people around the globe felt his presence. While Covid again means we can’t celebrate quite as we may have wished, we can still enjoy the many happy traditions. Be it the singing of carols (as long as the tune is well known); decorating the tree; giving and receiving presents; or watching a favorite film where we already know the ending, it’s no surprise that families so often treasure their Christmas routines. As these traditions and values are passed down from generation to generation, we see our children and their families embrace them. It is a source to great joy for me and my family.
This sense of passing the torch was something Prince Philip was very conscious of. That’s why he created The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, which offers young people throughout the Commonwealth and beyond the chance of exploration and adventure. It is still a remarkable success, rooted in his faith in the future.
He was also a pioneer in taking seriously our stewardship for the environment; and I am proud beyond measure that our eldest daughter Charles and William – admirably supported Camilla, Catherine – have taken up and magnified his pioneering work. This was most recently at the COPclimate change summit in Glasgow.
We look forward to the Commonwealth Games next summer. The baton is currently travelling the length of the Commonwealth, towards Birmingham, a beacon for hope along its journey. It will be an opportunity to celebrate the achievements and the coming together like-minded countries.
Six weeks from now, February will see the beginning of my Platinum Jubilee years. This will allow people all over the world to feel a sense of belonging; a chance to thank the vast changes of the last seventy-years – scientific, cultural, and social – and also to look to the future with confidence.
I am certain someone today will say that Christmas is a time for kids. It’s an engaging truth, but only half the story. Perhaps it’s truer to say that Christmas can speak to the child within us all. Adults can lose sight of the simple joys when they are overwhelmed with worry. Children see them differently.
Even though one of my family’s familiar laughs is missing this year, Christmas will still be joyful for us. We get to reminisce and see the magic of Christmas through the eyes of our children, who we were thrilled to welcome four more.
They teach us all a lesson. Just like the Christmas story, they remind us that there is always a new day with infinite potential in the birthing of a child. It is this simplicity of the Christmas story that makes it so universally appealing: simple happenings that formed the starting point of the life of Jesus — a man whose teachings have been handed down from generation to generation and have been the bedrock of my faith. His birth marked a new start. The carol says, “The hopes and fears all the years are met tonight in thee.”
I wish you all a very happy Christmas.”
Source: Glamour
