# Poll for Commonwealth Dopers: do you watch the Queen's Christmas message? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 19, 2005, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-for-commonwealth-dopers-do-you-watch-the-queens-christmas-message/336251 "2005-12-19T03:59:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2005, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-for-commonwealth-dopers-do-you-watch-the-queens-christmas-message/336251/1 "2005-12-19T03:59:26Z")
We do, every year. Watching the Queen’s message has become part of the Christmas night ritual. ---
**Author:** ![Silentgoldfish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@Silentgoldfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silentgoldfish)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2005, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-for-commonwealth-dopers-do-you-watch-the-queens-christmas-message/336251/2 "2005-12-19T04:24:24Z")
Didn’t even know she gave one! I’m working Xmas day in a hospital though so if I want to find out what a senile old woman thinks of the world I’ve got my pick of about 11. ---
**Author:** ![Ice\_Wolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/dfb087/32.png) [@Ice\_Wolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ice_Wolf)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2005, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-for-commonwealth-dopers-do-you-watch-the-queens-christmas-message/336251/3 "2005-12-19T05:17:34Z")
Used to when I was a nipper. Never do now – just don’t bother. ---
**Author:** ![jabiru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bbce88/32.png) [@jabiru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jabiru)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2005, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-for-commonwealth-dopers-do-you-watch-the-queens-christmas-message/336251/4 "2005-12-19T05:22:19Z")
I watch. I’m not a Royalist particularly but I like Her Maj. Besides, I’m more towards the fogey end of the age continuum and I like tradition. ---
**Author:** ![Dinaroozie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Dinaroozie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinaroozie)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2005, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-for-commonwealth-dopers-do-you-watch-the-queens-christmas-message/336251/5 "2005-12-19T05:23:46Z")
Nah. My Mum does sometimes in a sort of half-arsed way, but not always. ~ Isaac ---
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2005, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-for-commonwealth-dopers-do-you-watch-the-queens-christmas-message/336251/6 "2005-12-19T05:26:29Z")
> [@jabiru](#): > > I’m not a Royalist particularly but I like Her Maj. Besides, I’m more towards the fogey end of the age continuum and I like tradition. That sums me up as well (apart from the age thing - I’m in my 30s). If it’s on, I’ll definitely watch it, if only for it’s old fashioned feel. It’s a nice thing. Also, I do like the Queen (one of the smarter, more decent royals). That said, I won’t alter my plans to watch it, and most years I forget. ---
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2005, 7:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-for-commonwealth-dopers-do-you-watch-the-queens-christmas-message/336251/7 "2005-12-19T07:54:04Z")
The what? Nope, never seen anything bar the highlights on the news. That consists entirely of the Annus Horribilus speech. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Jones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/96bed5/32.png) [@Cat\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Jones)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2005, 7:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-for-commonwealth-dopers-do-you-watch-the-queens-christmas-message/336251/8 "2005-12-19T07:59:57Z")
Yup. I’m always with my parents and it is part of the whole Christmas day ritual in our family, we are usually just sitting down to ‘lunch’ when she comes on at 3pm. The folks are conservative altho’ not royalist in a “collecting mugs with their faces on way” they are for the Royal family. ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2005, 8:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-for-commonwealth-dopers-do-you-watch-the-queens-christmas-message/336251/9 "2005-12-19T08:18:25Z")
We usually get around to watching it. It always feels slightly odd though when she throws in the Jesus stuff; we’re so unused to senior public figures godding about that it obscures the fact that 1) it’s actually Christmas and 2) she’s the head of the Church of England. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2005, 9:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-for-commonwealth-dopers-do-you-watch-the-queens-christmas-message/336251/10 "2005-12-19T09:37:19Z")
I do by default, due to other family members insisting on putting it on. It’s about as meaningless to the household as the whole Christmas ritual in general, yet it still gets done every year. ---
**Author:** ![bonzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/45deac/32.png) [@bonzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bonzer)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2005, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-for-commonwealth-dopers-do-you-watch-the-queens-christmas-message/336251/11 "2005-12-20T00:35:20Z")
Invariably, though it’s hardly taken that seriously. More of an excuse for generating a humourous commentary on her bland remarks and predictable clips of foreign trips. I do think that we as a family treat it as a sort of crucial psychological boundary during Xmas Day each year. First, it’s usually when the telly goes on in anticipation of whatever film that’s on afterwards. Up till then it’s been presents that have occupied us, now it’s TV that we expect to entertain us. Apart from food. We have the family tradition of eating in the early evening, so Betty concluding her address to the nation is usually the signal for whoever’s cooking (me this year) to start to fret about dinner. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2005, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-for-commonwealth-dopers-do-you-watch-the-queens-christmas-message/336251/12 "2005-12-20T14:26:41Z")
Christmas, what’s that? Public holidays are meaningless to me :(. No, I don’t listen or watch the Queen’s message. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2005, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-for-commonwealth-dopers-do-you-watch-the-queens-christmas-message/336251/13 "2005-12-20T15:21:31Z")
I have a vague memory of my grandparents watching it, but then my grandparents were as English as the day is long. It’s not really on my radar. I may watch it this year just to see what it’s like. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2005, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-for-commonwealth-dopers-do-you-watch-the-queens-christmas-message/336251/14 "2005-12-20T18:32:22Z")
I really don’t go out of my way to watch anything on TV. If the TV’s on, and if I happen to be flipping past it, I’ll watch. If not I’ll catch the highlights on the news or read about it in the paper.