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Queen remembers mixed year
LONDON, England -- Britain's Queen Elizabeth II looked back on a year mixed with joy, grief and scandal in her Christmas address to the Commonwealth. She spoke of the success of her Golden Jubilee and the sadness of two family deaths -- her mother and sister -- but made no direct reference to the scandal surrounding the trial of Princess Diana's former butler. In her annual TV address she appeared with framed photos of her sister Princess Margaret and Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother. "As I look back over these past 12 months, I know that it has been about as full a year as I can remember," she said. "Many of you will know only too well from your own experience, the grief that follows the death of a much loved mother or sister. "Mine were very much part of my life and always gave me their support and encouragement. But my own sadness was tempered by the generous tributes that so many of you paid to the service they gave to this country and the wider Commonwealth." And she said the Golden Jubilee celebrations, which took the Queen across the world and across the country, had invoked a sense of belonging and pride. "The celebrations were joyous occasions, but they also seemed to evoke something more lasting and profound - a sense of belonging and pride in country, town, or community; a sense of sharing a common heritage enriched by the cultural, ethnic and religious diversity of our 21st century society. "It was a time to remind ourselves that we must never forget the plight of the disadvantaged and excluded, that we must respond to the needs of those who may be in distress or despair." Queen Elizabeth made no direct reference to the Paul Burrell trial, which collapsed after she told prosecutors of a conversation she had had with the butler that undermined the case against him. But in what has been taken as a rebuttal to the criticism she received after the trial collapsed she said: "I know that the only way to live my life is to try to do what is right, to take the long view, to give of my best in all that the day brings, and to put my trust in God." The broadcast was recorded in the White Drawing Room at the Palace. The Queen wore a rock crystal and hand-painted brooch set in 100 diamonds which she had given to the Queen Mother for her 100th birthday.
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