HRH in 3D: Queen's Speech through the years from black and white to high definition

The festive message has gone hi-tech to allow viewers to scrutinise the Queen as never before in her Diamond Jubilee year

Annual tradition: The Queen giving last year's Christmas message

Reuters

The Queen has "embraced" new technology and recorded her traditional Christmas broadcast in 3D for the first time.

The festive message has gone hi-tech to allow viewers to scrutinise the Queen as never before in her Diamond Jubilee year.

However, the audience will also be able to see the 86-year-old monarch in standard and high definition during the speech, which will be broadcast at 3pm on Christmas Day.

A Buckingham Palace spokeswoman said the Queen has watched her Christmas message and thought the broadcast was "absolutely lovely".

She added: "We wanted to do something a bit different and special in this Jubilee year, so doing it for the first time in 3D seemed a good thing, technology wise, to do.

"The Queen absolutely agreed straight away there was no need for convincing at all, she was absolutely ready to embrace something new in this year."

The Christmas address is written by the Queen and usually has a strong religious framework, reflecting current issues and drawing on her own experiences over the past year.

The speech is one of the rare occasions when she does not turn to the Government for advice but is able to voice her own views.

TV star: The Queen's speech was first broadcast on television in 1957

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The annual broadcast, first made by the Queen's grandfather, George V, in 1932, has been televised since 1957.

During her pregnancies the Queen has either given her speech via a pre-recorded message, or spoken on radio rather than TV.

Each year, the broadcast has a 'theme' - such as hope or perseverance.

The Queen has used the speech to reflect on changes in Britain and across the Commonwealth and events within the royal family - such as the death of Diana, Princess of Wales.

She has spoken of the radical changes of the Swinging Sixties, the changing role of women, and the end of apartheid in South Africa.

In 1967 the speech was broadcast in colour for the first time.

There was no broadcast in 1969 - the Queen thought that the Royals had received enough press attention after a special documentary, 'Royal Family' was broadcast earlier in the year.

But after public dismay, the Queen released a statement promising the annual broadcast would be reinstated the following year.

The Monarch has often used her speech to remember servicemen and women lost or injured in British and Commonwealth conflicts, such as the Falkland Islands, the 1991 Gulf War, Iraq and Afghanistan.

In recent years, she has focused on the the changes to society facilitated by technology, reflected on terrorist attacks in the UK and abroad and reminded the Commonwealth nations of the need for ethnic and religious tolerance.

Here are all the important bits...