King-Emperor
George V made the first-ever royal Christmas speech. It was broadcast
on the radio to all the peoples of the British Empire on Christmas
Day 1932.
For
many years, the
King could not be persuaded to give a personal message to his Empire on
Christmas Day. This was due largely to his belief that he lacked the
sophistication and flair of other broadcasters, and as the message
would be personal in nature rather than a formal address he could not
hide behind formality to combat his fears.
All
that changed when, at the suggestion of Prime Minister Ramsay
MacDonald, Rudyard Kipling was appointed to write the script. King
George respected and admired both of these men, so the reluctant speaker was finally persuaded to deliver his message.
The thick tablecloth that can be seen in the picture below was added to help muffle the sound of rustling papers: the King was so nervous when speaking that his hands shook! Despite this, the King's delivery and Kipling's majestic words were widely acclaimed. The King sounded like a father speaking to his family; Kipling's Christmas message is often seen by historians as one of the great speeches of the twentieth century.
The thick tablecloth that can be seen in the picture below was added to help muffle the sound of rustling papers: the King was so nervous when speaking that his hands shook! Despite this, the King's delivery and Kipling's majestic words were widely acclaimed. The King sounded like a father speaking to his family; Kipling's Christmas message is often seen by historians as one of the great speeches of the twentieth century.
