The Queen made light of ageing in her Christmas Day broadcast, joking that no one had expected her to reach 70 years of marriage. She also praised the courage of survivors of terrorism. Musing about her wedding anniversary in November and the Duke of Edinburgh’s retreat from public duties, she said: “I don’t know that anyone had invented the term platinum for a 70th wedding anniversary when I was born. You weren’t expected to be around that long. Even Prince Philip has decided it’s time to slow down a little, having, as he economically put it, ‘done his bit’.”The Queen, 91, said that despite stepping back from solo engagements, “I know his support and unique sense of humour will remain as strong as ever”.

Source: The Times December 26, 2017 00:00 UTC