The Queen’s Speech Is A-Changing

10 days to Christmas...time to do your checklist.  Turkey and all the trimmings, tick.  Presents for family and friends, tick. Christmas cards written and posted, tick.  TV schedule reviewed and programmes picked, not ticked.  There’s plenty of time for that, after all.  Downton Abbey is in the starting blocks, there are the usual soaps to watch, oh and there’s the Queen’s speech too.  

But how many of us watch the Queen’s speech now?  It used to be essential viewing for all the family and indeed the whole street, but for years now the tradition of settling down on the sofa together to listen to the Queen’s review of the year has been in decline.This year, though, the viewing figures may buck the trend for two reasons.  Firstly, Rupert Murdoch’s Sky News is producing the programme for the first time with all the media fire power that it brings with it and, we hope, some unseen footage of the second reason for more viewers...the wedding this year of Prince William to Kate Middleton.  National and international interest in the new Duke and Duchess of Cambridge is enormous and positive, so the producers can expect many new viewers to turn on their tellies to watch the Queen this year. 

At its peak in 1987, 27 million of us tuned in to see the Queen’s Speech.  Over the past two decades numbers have declined dramatically as the Royal Family has diminished in importance to many of us, and has lost much of the respect it once held.  Nonetheless, whilst other members of her family do not command affection in our hearts, the Queen herself is almost universally respected and admired by the British public.

The bookmakers William Hill reckon that viewing figures will be under 9 million this Christmas, offering odds of 4/6 for that eventuality and 11/10 for over 9 million.  This represents a significant increase on 2005 when the figures were the lowest ever at 7 million in total.

The content of the speech has not been released (who wants to be a spoiler for the Queen?) but William Hill predict that William and Kate’s wedding will be on the agenda (betting odds are 1/10 that it will!)  as will the Olympic Games 2012 (odds of 1/10 again) and of course the ongoing conflict in Afghanistan (odds of 1/6). 

The bookmaker offers odds on a variety of other topics that may crop up but, interestingly, it offers long odds on the subject of Mike Tindall being included.  The disgraced England rugby star married the Queen’s grand-daughter, Zara Phillips, in the summer but his lacklustre performance on the pitch at the World Cup and, most particularly, his disastrous performance off the pitch (remember the footage of cavorting in the nightclubs anyone?) push the chances of a mention to 33/1.

But, Mike Tindall apart, the stellar appeal of the wedding, Prince Philip’s 90^th birthday, the Queen’s historic visit to Ireland and the start of the Diamond Jubilee celebrations which will last for much of next year may all add enormous appeal and comfort to the public, both at home and abroad.  The Address to the Commonwealth, as the speech is properly known, will take place on Christmas Day at 3pm.  Book your spot on the sofa now!