The extraordinary story of the late Queen Elizabeth II’s life, 70-year reign, and the many world events she was on the throne for has been honoured in a special Christmas Day broadcast on Newstalk ZB.

In a documentary feature voiced by ZB Breakfast host Mike Hosking, the monarch was remembered through the lens of her much-loved Christmas messages, which inspired hope across seven decades.

Queen Elizabeth, who died in September at the age of 96, delivered a Christmas Day message from the beginning of her reign in 1952, right up until her final Christmas last year.

The first of her Christmas speeches came as a 26-year-old, as she nervously broadcast live over the radio from her residence in Sandringham.

Shifting away from the modus operandi of her father, King George VI, she eschewed the assistance of a ghostwriter and penned the message to the Commonwealth herself – something she’d continue to do in every Christmas speech until her death.

In 1953, the Queen and Prince Philip found themselves on a Royal Tour of New Zealand over the Christmas period. It was a time of great excitement for Kiwis, with as many as three in four coming out to see the royals as they visited 46 towns and cities across the motu.

But her speech this year was tinged with sadness, as she reflected on many tragic deaths – not just in her homeland but in Aotearoa too, with 151 people dying in the unspeakably awful Tangiwai train disaster on Christmas Eve.

Over the ensuing seven decades of Christmases, the Queen would again and again use her broadcasts to respond to countless global events – spanning the Vietnam War in the ‘60s and ‘70s to the arrival of Princess Diana in the ‘80s, to 9/11 in 2001, the nuptials of Will and Kate in 2011, and numerous conflicts and famines over the intervening years.

Despite the subject matter often being of a sombre nature, the Queen had an uncanny ability to offer those listening a poignant message of hope heading into the New Year.

This was a reflection of her own deep faith, from which she derived hope and which she spoke candidly about in many of her Christmas speeches, particularly after the turn of the millennium.

“Billions of people now follow [Christ’s] teaching and find in him the guiding light for their lives,” she said in her 2016 speech. “I am one of them, because Christ’s example helps me see the value of doing small things with great love, whoever does them and whatever they themselves believe.”

In her years on the throne, the Queen swapped the microphone for a camera, and the words she spoke were no longer on a piece of paper but on a screen in front of her – but they were no less her own, and no less from her heart.

However, on the day of her final Christmas message in 2021, her heart was heavy as she marked the first time she’d celebrate the holiday without her dear husband by her side.

In this speech, she paid tribute to Philip, offered sympathy to those for whom Christmas would be a difficult time, and spoke frankly about the true Christmas message.

Then, she signed off for one final time, wishing her people “a very Merry Christmas”.

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