Each year, Queen Elizabeth delivers a Christmas Day message which is broadcast in the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth countries – and this year, the monarch’s address will be delivered in a new medium that stretches beyond radio or television.
This year, the commemorate the tail end of the year that was 2020, Amazon’s Alexa will deliver the Queen’s Christmas message when prompted with the command “Alexa, play the Queen’s Christmas Day message”. Users will be able to request playback on Christmas Day from 3pm GMT (5pm SAST).
The move, while significant, actually isn’t the first time Amazon has stepped in to relay Her Majesty’s message. In 2012, the Queen’s message was delivered to Amazon Kindle owners.
According to Eric King, director of Amazon Alexa Europe, the decision to relay the message comes 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”, says King.
The news will hopefully be met with optimism by Britons – and particiularly Londoners – entering another hard lockdown as Christmas Day approaches.
It remains to be seen if other addresses might be relayed over digital assistants in the near future. Giants such as Google, for example, have stepped in this year to sift information from misinformation and has worked more closely with governments than ever before; meaning relayed updates from Presidents, Monarchs, or other leaders might be more commonplace in the future.
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