QUEEN PLEDGES FAITH IN COMMONWEALTH

Press, Volume XCIV, Issue 28161, 27 December 1956, Page 7

QUEEN PLEDGES FAITH IN COMMONWEALTH

(N.Z. Press Association—Copyright) (Rec. 9 p.m.) LONDON, December 25. Queen Elizabeth and her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, today pledged their faith in the future of the British Commonwealth in Christmas broadcasts to the Commonwealth peoples. The Queen and the Duke, more than 10,000 miles apart, exchanged Christmas greetings over the air during the British Broadcasting Corporation’s traditional Christmas programme.

The Queen, speaking from the Royal Family’s country house at Sandringham, Norfolk, sent a “happy Christmas from us all” greeting to her husband on board the Royal yacht, Britannia, halfway between New Zealand and Cape Horn. The Queen’s children, Prince Charles and Princess Anne, sat in front of a roaring Are in an adjoining room listening to their mother speak. A few minutes earlier they had heard their father's voice say: “I hope all of you are enjoying a very happy Christmas and I hope you children are having a lot of fun.” Gathered in the drawing room were three generations of the Royal Family—the Queen Mother, Princes Margaret, and the Royal children. The family circle also included the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester and the Duchess of Kent with her three children, the Duke of Kent, Princess Alexandra and Prince Michael. “Most Hopeful Experiment” The Queen, referring to the Duke’s Commonwealth tour, said: “One idea above all others has been the mainspring of this journey: it is the wish to advance concord and understanding within the Commonwealth. No purpose comes nearer to my own desires, for I believe that the way in which our Commonwealth is developing represents one of the most hopeful and imaginative experiments in international affairs that the world has ever seen. “If, as its head, I can make any real personal contribution towards its progress, it must surely be to promote its unity.” The Queen added: “If my husband cannot be at home on Christmas Day, I could not wish for a better reason than that he should be travelling in other parts of the Commonwealth.” “Room at the Inn” The Royal broadcast made a special plea for the welfare of refugees—“ Let us see that for them and their children there is room at the inn.” The Duke of Edinburgh’s speech came at the end of an hour’s messages from all parts of the Commonwealth and preceded the Queen’s speech. Her Majesty said: “Once again messages of Christmas greetings have been exchanged round the world. From all parts of the Commonwealth, and from the remote and lonely spaces of Antarctica, words and thoughts, taking their inspiration from the birth of the Child in Bethlehem long ago, have been carried between us upon the invisible wings of twentieth century science.

•‘Neither the long and troubled centuries that have passed since that Child was born, nor the complex scientific developments of our age, have done anything to dim the simple joy and bright hope we all feel when we celebrate His birthday. That joy and hope find their most complete fulfilment within the loving circle of a united family.” Greetings to Husband The Queen continued: “You will understand me, therefore, when I tell you that of all the voices we have heard this afternoon none has given my children and myself greater joy than that of my husband. To him I say: ‘From all the members of the family gathered here today our very best good wishes go out to you and to everyone on board Britannia as you voyage together in the far southern seas. Happy Christmas from us all.’ “Of course it is sad for us to be separated on this day, and of course we look forward to the moment when we shall again be together. Yet my husband’s absence at this time has made me even more aware than I was before of my own good fortune in being one of a united family. “With that consciousness in mind I would like to send a special message of hope and encouragement to all who are not so blessed, or for any reason cannot be with those they love today. “To the sick who cannot be at home; to all who serve their country in foreign lands, or whose duty keeps them upon the oceans; and to every man or woman whose destiny it is to walk through life alone. Plea for Refugees “Particularly on this day of the family festival let us remember those who—like the Holy Family before them —have been driven from their homes by war or violence. We call them 'refugees.' Let us give them a true refuge: let us see that for them and their children there is room at the inn. “We talk of ourselves as a ‘family of nations’ and perhaps our relations, with one another, are not so very different from those which exist between the members of any family. We all know that these are not always easy, for there is no law within a family which binds its members to think, or act, or be alike. “That each one of us should give this power a chance to do its work is. my heartfelt message to you this Christmas Day. I can think of no better resolve to make nor any better day on which to make it. Let us remember this during our festivities, for it is part of the Christmas message ‘goodwill toward men.’ “I wish you all a happy Christmas and a happy New Year.” Duke’s Speech The Duke said: “This is Britannia. Duke of Edinburgh speaking. I wish every one of you listening a very happy Christmas. Many of you at home today will be toasting absent friends. I should like to reply on their behalf. “I am speaking to you from the middle of the South Pacific. 65deg south and 123 deg west, roughly half-way between New

Zealand and Cape Horn. You will have to turn the globe upside down to find the place. “We are solid fact beneath the words and phrases—we are the solid flesh and blood links which draw the Commonwealth together under the Crown. “Since I have left home I have met men and women everywhere who are willing to serve others rather than themselves. With people like that the idea of Commonwealth will remain alive instead of becoming an empty phrase. “Not many years ago, to be absent meant being cut off almost completely for long periods. In our day, however great the physical separation, we always have this link I am using now. “I would also like to send a very simple message to all the wives and children and relations who have remembered us today. We pray, in words used thousands of years ago, that the Lord may watch between me and thee when we are absent one from another.” Commonwealth Messages Before the Duke spoke, the 8.8. C. relayed live and recorded Christmas messages from all parts of the Commonwealth. By means of the newly-laid underwater cable linking London and the .American continent, millions of listeners heard how Canadians were spending their Christmas. From Trinidad, Learie Constantine, the former test cricketer, told how his early passion for knowledge had brought him to his present position as Minister of Communications in the Trinidad Government. From Nigeria came the sounds of a new type of music made up of drums, organ and singers and from the Gold Coast came the strains of a choir of students from Achimota University. From the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, an 80-year-old priest, Father Calagua, who was released from slavery by the British, sent a message of greetings to the Queen. In Tanganyika, a choir of children sang a song of thanks to Princess Mar-gar-t composed specially for her visit there this year. An anonymous anti-Commumsl immigrant to Southern Rhodesia who had escaped to West Germany after the war, sent a message to his wife and two children. now aged nine and 12. He described how he had been a prisoner in some uranium mines before his escape, and how he had found happiness in his new life. He did not give his name for fear of reprisals. From the Antarctic Listeners joined explorers aboard the Antarctic exploration ship Magga Dan entering the ice of Vahsel Bay. The explorers, Mr George Lowe, of New Zealand, the expedition’s official photographer, who accompanied the successful British Everest expedition; Dr. H. Lister, a glaciologist from Yorkshire; Mr Piet du Toit, a South African; and Dr. Vivian Fuchs, leader of the team, sent recorded Christmas greetings to their homelands and received personal replies. Best Film Actors Of 1956 (Rec. 8 p.m.) NEW YORK. December 25. The magazine “Film Daily” tonight named Anna Magnani and Yul Brynner the screen's top stars of 1956. Miss Magnani was cited for her role in “The Rose Tattoo,” and Mr Brynner for recreating his Broadway stage role in the film version of “The King and I.” Runner-up in the best actor voting was Frank Sinatra in "The Man with the Golden Arm.” Susan Hayward, in “I’ll Cry Tomorrow.” was voted second-best actress.