'Alexa, play the Queen's Christmas speech': Monarch's message branches out

The Queen's Christmas Day message will be available through Alexa smart devices this year, Amazon has announced.

From 3pm on Christmas Day, people will be able to say "Alexa, play the Queen's Christmas Day message" or "Alexa, play Queen Elizabeth's Christmas Day message".

The message will be able to be heard on Amazon Echo speakers around the world, with language settings of British English, or American, Australian, Canadian or Indian varieties of English.

Eric King, director of Alexa Europe, said: "After a challenging year, millions of people from across the Commonwealth will be eagerly awaiting Her Majesty the Queen's message on Christmas Day.

"By creating this world-first innovation, just as we did in 2012 with the release of the Queen's Christmas speech on Kindle, we hope that even more people will be able to enjoy the uplifting words of Her Majesty.

"This really is one for the history books and showcases just how far technology has advanced since the very first speech was delivered back in 1932."

The Queen's message this year is likely to be dominated by the COVID-19 pandemic and she is expected to praise those who have helped the nation during the past nine months.

She has delivered a Christmas message every year since 1952, with the exception of 1969 after she decided the royals had been on TV enough that year following a documentary about their life.