Queen's Christmas speech features ARC

	"The idea that the churches and the AID agencies might talk together a bit more and get together a bit more is a very good idea." HM The Queen. African Christian Leaders Gathering November 2004, quoted in the Queen's Christmas Broadcast.

In her 2004 Christmas broadcast Her Majesty the Queen drew special attention to the work of ARC and the contribution of HRH the Prince Philip to strengthening the links between religions and with ecology.

The nine minute message - which was broadcast on all terrestrial networks in Britain, attracting an audience of more than ten million people - was on the subject of religious tolerance. It included a film clip of Her Majesty talking with ARC delegates at the November meeting of African Christian Leaders jointly organized by ARC and the World Bank.

One of those sessions was held at Buckingham Palace by invitation of HM The Queen and Prince Philip. His Royal Highness was shown on the film encouraging people to think and act the ARC way.

"It doesn't really matter which religious community you are from because if they are all in a sense inspired by the ARC and by conservation then they are all doing something together without compromisising their beliefs in any way," Prince Philip said on the film clip.

"As ARC enters its tenth year we could not have received a more wonderful expression of support," said secretary-general of ARC, Martin Palmer. “It was not just support for what we do but also for why and how we work with all the major faiths of the world to create a better world for all our futures,”

The theme of each Christmas broadcast is chosen by The Queen and reflects her own interests – though as her official website emphasises, it is always motivated by compassion and concern for her people.

Read and watch the Queen's Christmas Broadcast.

"Most of us have learned to acknowledge and respect the ways of other cultures and religions, but what matters even more is the way in which those from different backgrounds behave towards each other in everyday life." HM The Queen. Christmas Broadcast 2004.