エリザベス英女王、「多難な」一年と振り返る　Ｘマスメッセージ一部公開

【ロンドンＡＦＰ＝時事】英国のエリザベス女王（93）が25日にテレビを通じて発表するクリスマス恒例のビデオメッセージの一部が事前公開された。その中で女王は、2019年を「非常に多難な」年だったと振り返っている。（写真は英ロンドンのウィンザー城でクリスマス恒例のメッセージの収録を終え、写真撮影に応じるエリザベス女王）
　差し迫る英国の欧州連合（ＥＵ）離脱（ブレグジット）をめぐって国内は分裂し、英王室は複数のスキャンダルにのみ込まれた。中でも、エリザベス女王の息子アンドルー王子は、未成年少女を性的目的で人身取引した罪で起訴された米富豪、故ジェフリー・エプスタイン被告との交友関係をめぐり公務から身を引くことを余儀なくされた。
　アンドルー王子は英ＢＢＣ放送のインタビューでエプスタイン被告の被害女性の一人と性行為に及んだとの疑惑を否定して幕引きを図ったが、嘲笑を浴び、バッキンガム宮殿内部でも批判されたと報じられている。
　また女王の夫のフィリップ殿下は今年初め、車を運転中に衝突事故に遭ったがけがはなかった。この事故で女性２人が負傷した。さらに現在は病院で治療を受けている。
　事前公開されたメッセージの一部で女王は、イエス・キリストの人生は和解の重要さを指し示していると述べ、「もちろん、道は常に平たんであるとは限らない。今年は時折非常に多難だと感じることもあったかもしれない。しかし、小さな歩みによって大きな変化をもたらすことはできる」と語っている。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2019/12/24-14:13）

Queen Elizabeth II will describe 2019 as quite bumpy in her traditional Christmas Day message, after a year of crises which saw Britain divided over its impending exit from the European Union and her son Prince Andrew forced to withdraw from public life.
The 93-year-old monarch, whose husband Philip is receiving treatment in hospital, will use her televised address on Wednesday to reflect on the need for reconciliation.
The royal family was swept up in scandals that included a calamitous BBC interview with the queen's second son who tried to distance himself from American paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
The interview in which Andrew denied having sex with one of Epstein's alleged victims was widely ridiculed and reportedly criticised within Buckingham Palace, forcing him to step back from public duties.
In a portion of her Christmas speech released in advance, the queen says the life of Jesus shows the importance of reconciliation.
It teaches how small steps taken in faith and in hope can overcome long-held differences and deep-seated divisions to bring harmony and understanding, she says.
The path, of course, is not always smooth, and may at times this year have felt quite bumpy, but small steps can make a world of difference.
- 'He's alright' -
Britain endured a year of political drama linked to its delayed withdrawal from the European Union.
The queen was dragged into the saga when she approved Prime Minister Boris Johnson's request to suspend parliament in August -- with opponents accusing him of trying to close down debate on Brexit.
The Supreme Court subsequently ruled that Johnson's request had been unlawful.
The monarch has only symbolic power -- by convention, she always follows the advice of her ministers and Johnson was widely criticised for having put her in an impossible position.
The queen's grandson Prince Harry and his American former actress wife Meghan Markle were also in the news, speaking about their struggles living in the public eye.
Prince Harry took legal action against two tabloids in October accusing them of intercepting voicemail messages.
Meghan filed a separate case against a newspaper that published excerpts of a letter her estranged father wrote to her.
Prince Philip's difficult year began with a car accident in which two women were injured. The police found the 98-year-old responsible but brought no charges.
Buckingham Palace has released little information about Philip's condition since his hospitalisation on Friday for treatment in relation to a pre-existing condition.
He's alright, Philip's son Charles told a reporter during a visit in northern England on Monday.
Once you get to that age things don't work as well.
-'Spirit of reconciliation' -
The queen has remained one of Britain's most popular figures despite the royal family's travails.
A poll by YouGov in November showed 72 percent of respondents had a positive opinion of the monarch.
Prince Charles's approval was just 46 percent.
The queen's Christmas Day message reflects on the heroism of British forces during the D-Day landings in Normandy that turned the course of World War II in 1944.
In June she made an increasingly rare trip to abroad to attend the 75th anniversary commemorations in France.
For the 75th anniversary of that decisive battle, in a true spirit of reconciliation, those who had formerly been sworn enemies came together in friendly commemorations either side of the Channel, putting past differences behind them, the queen says in her message.
By being willing to put past differences behind us and move forward together, we honour the freedom and democracy once won for us at so great a cost.