Photograph of HM Queen Elizabeth II seated at her desk, facing three-quarters right. She holds a copy of Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress from which she quoted during her annual Christmas speech. Also on the desk are photographs of Prince Charles and Princess Anne.

Following her accession, The Queen continued the tradition begun in 1932 by her grandfather, King George V, of making a radio broadcast to the Empire on Christmas Day each year. However, in 1957 Her Majesty agreed that, for the first time, the broadcast from Sandringham could also be televised. By this time both Canada and Australia had their own television services; the broadcast could also still be heard on the radio throughout the remainder of the Commonwealth. The speech was televised live and The Queen took the opportunity to talk about the impact of new technology on people’s lives. Sixteen and a half million people saw the television broadcast in Britain alone, and a further nine and a half million listened on the radio.