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On Christmas Day at 3pm, the Queen spoke to the nation from the Green Drawing Room at Windsor Castle. The monarch has addressed the nation with her Christmas Message since 1952 and typically
combines a chronicle of the year’s major events and the sovereign’s own personal milestones and feeling on Christmas. This year, the Queen was dressed in a blue dress and a sapphire brooch.
Some academics have since viewed the outfit as a hidden pro-EU message. This, despite the fact the Queen has to stay publicly neutral on politics. The brooch is set with 12 diamonds and
said to be similar to the EU flag's circle of stars. READ MORE: ROYAL SANDRINGHAM: 'SPECIAL NAME’ ROYALS HAVE FOR CHRISTMAS BREAKFAST The brooch was a gift from Prince Albert to
Queen Victoria on the eve of their wedding in 1840. Dr James Anderson, an academic at the University of Reading, took to Twitter to say the Queen has expressed her “personal views” during
the speech. He said: “The Queen has full editorial control of the Queen's Speech and can choose whether or not to give one. She chose not to in 1969. “So treat the speech as her
personal views, right down to her choice of an EU blue dress and an EU stars broach. (sic)” She said the path is never "smooth" but "small steps" can heal divisions. The
year of 2019 has seen intense political debates over Brexit, as well as a number of personal events affecting the Royal Family. In January, the Duke of Edinburgh was involved in a car crash
while driving near the Queen's Sandringham Estate in Norfolk. He escaped uninjured, but two women required hospital treatment. In September, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex publicly
revealed their struggles under the media spotlight during their tour of southern Africa.