Royal fans have taken to social media to praise Queen Elizabeth II's annual Christmas speeches after a clip compilation from the late monarch's 70-year reign has gone viral on TikTok.
Elizabeth delivered a yearly Christmas speech that was broadcast on radio and TV channels in Britain and across the commonwealth each Christmas Day.
The video, uploaded by TikTok user angelskyfire, has gained more than 2.5 million views and over 450,000 likes to date, leaving mournful fans lamenting that the queen's 2021 speech was the last of its kind.
"It won't be the same without her Christmas message this year. 😔," says the video caption, with clips from speeches spanning the 1950s to the 2020s contained within it.
Elizabeth died September 8 at the age of 96, three months after participating in events of national celebration marking her 70th year on the throne—the longest reign of any monarch in British history.
"This is going to be a rough Christmas without our majesty saying merry Christmas to us but we all will remember you Queen Elizabeth ll 🕊🕊," wrote one TikTok user.
"I can't believe for the first time in 70 years, she won't be able to wish us a happy christmas. It's sad," posted another.
A commenter added: "As an American, I too will miss these. I used to always make sure I took the time to find a way to watch it. Brought so much joy."
Although Elizabeth became the first monarch to record a Christmas speech for television in 1967, she did not start the tradition.
The first Christmas broadcast was made in 1932 by King George V, Elizabeth's grandfather. The time of 3 p.m. was chosen for the speech because it was the most convenient time during the day across what was then the British empire. George's first speech was written by a famous author, Rudyard Kipling.
Thereafter, the broadcasts became a royal tradition, with Elizabeth becoming the third monarch to make them when she acceded to the throne in 1952 following the death of her father, King George VI.
As queen, Elizabeth broadcast a speech every Christmas during her reign except one.
There was no radio or TV broadcast in 1969. Instead, a printed message was issued from Buckingham Palace. This decision was made personally by the queen following the broadcast of a controversial documentary following the day-to-day lives of the royals earlier that year.
The Royal Family documentary was recorded to mark then-Prince Charles' investiture as prince of Wales. The resulting film, though considered tame by today's standards, was criticized by some for being too revealing and removing the layer of mystique that protected the monarchy.
Following the documentary's initial broadcasts, the queen, who owned the copyright, did not grant permission for it to be seen again. Modern commentators consider the making of the behind-the-scenes film a turning point in the monarchy's relationship with the press, and it ignited the public's desire for greater access and insight.
In her written Christmas message for that year, the queen began by saying:
"I have received a great number of kind letters and messages of regard and concern about this year's break with the usual broadcast at Christmas, and I want you all to know that my good wishes are no less warm and personal because they come to you in a different form."
She concluded by saying it was "only natural that we should all be dazzled and impressed by the triumphs of technology." But she added, "Christmas is a festival of the spirit."
Following her death, King Charles is expected to be the fourth British monarch to take up the royal Christmas broadcasting tradition. Buckingham Palace, however, has not yet confirmed whether this will be the case.
Newsweek reached out to Buckingham Palace for comment.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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