Christmas 2007. East of the North Sea the Christmas speech of Queen Beatrix (1938-) is broadcasted on both radio and television at 13.00 local time. West of the North Sea the speech of Queen Elizabeth II (1926-) is broadcasted at 19.50 local time. There are similarities and differences.
If the time of broadcasting was chosen to give as many people as possible the opportunity to watch or listen to it directly, you have to know something about the activities that are usual for Christmas day. In the Netherlands most of those who attended a service in church, will have returned home by 13.00. As for England, I cannot give a good reason for the time of broadcasting. I could guess, but I did not do any research, so the question remains unanswered. Neither do I know whether the British queen's speech - like in the Netherlands - is broadcasted at the same time every year.
Both speeches are not broadcasted live. During her speech, Queen Beatrix sits behind a table. Through the window you can see a frosted Christmas tree and landscape. On Christmas Day, it has been thawing for two days and frost is not to be seen anywhere. The Queen's dress is of an excellent quality, but modest, both in colour (grey/beige) and cut. She wears no hat, nor an abundance of jewelry.
The speech is preceded by psalm 84, played by a band of the Salvation Army. After the speech we hear the gospel song: Swing low, sweet chariot.
At the beginning of the speech the Queen refers to the birth of Jesus. More subjects are: democracy, tolerance, also as a cultural inheritance, the danger of polarization and the obligaion for all inhabitants of the country to obey the operative laws. At the end of the speech the Queen wishes us a blessed Christmas*.
The linguistic usage is understandable, the pronunciation rather posh.
The British Queen's speech is more like a presentation. The broadcast starts with the beginning of her speech of fifty years ago and ends with the end of that very speech. In between we see fragments that refer to the subjects treated. The British Queen is standing while making her speech. Her dress too - like that of the Netherlands Queen - is of an excellent quality, but modest, both in colour (pale yellowish) and cut. She too wears no hat, nor an abundance of jewelry.
In this speech too the birth of Jesus is mentioned at the beginning. Then the Queen asks to take care of isolated persons and groups in society and she commemorates the soldiers who fell in Iraq and Afghanistan. She also looks back on the changes during the past fifty years. After the Queen's wish for a blessed Christmas, the national anthem is played**.
Here too, the linguistic use is understandable. The pronunciation does not seem very upper class to me. Throughout the broadcast, as a complimentary service for the deaf, an interpreter can be seen translating all texts, of the queen, the fragments and the national anthem, into gesture-language.
The speech of the Netherlands queen concerns both the smaller family circle and things going on in the bigger circle of Netherlands society. There is more empasis on the latter.
The smaller circle of friends and family takes a more central place in the speech of the Britiish queen, although she does not fail to take a closer look at society. However, far less attention is paid to the multicultural aspect.
Years: Queen Beatrix has been queen of the Netherlands since 1980; Queen Elizabeth II ascended the British throne in 1952.
The interpreter for the deaf is an excellent service with the British speech; how do they do this in the Netherlands?
The speeches of 2007 can be found full text on the websites in the notes. Texts of speeches held in earlier years may also be read there.
I herewith conclude this little comparative research, without any claim to being complete.
* The full text of the Netherlands Christmas speech 2007 can be found at:
** The full text of the British Christmas speech 2007 can be found at:
