this is bbc news. i'mjane hill. the headlines at four o'clock. .. the queen has delivered her annual christmas message — highlighting the need for reconciliation — in what's being seen as a nod to the divisions caused by brexit. by to the divisions caused by brexit. being willing to r. differences by being willing to put past differences behind us and move forward together, we honour the freedom and democracy once won for us freedom and democracy once won for us at so great a cost. three members of a british family have drowned at a holiday resort on the costa del sol. spanish police are investigating. in the vatican, pope francis says "god loves everyone" — "even the worst of us" — thought to be a reference to abuse scandals in the catholic church. hundreds of people in australia have been forced

from their homes for the holidays, as the country battles some of its worst bushfires in years. join me, sarah campbell, for a look back at a busy royal year. there were plenty of headlines and a new addition. baby archiejoined his parents on tour to south africa. the queen has used her christmas message to say that she has been "struck" by the "sense of purpose" younger generations have shown in tackling issues like climate change. her majesty also ackonwleged that 2019 had been a "bumpy" year. it comes after a year of intense political debate about brexit,

as well as a number of personal events affecting the royal family. this morning, members of herfamilyjoined the queen in attending the christmas day service at sandringham in norfolk. our royal correspondent nicholas witchell reports. morning service at sandringham. notable for who attended and who was absent. making their first appearance, six—year—old prince george and four—year—old princess charlotte. absent from the main service, prince andrew. he decided to attend an earlier private service for the family. after the 11 o'clock service, the queen headed back to sandringham house, where prince philip had remained after his discharge from hospital yesterday. that left the cambridges to lead the royal party greeting the crowds. a little daunting for george and charlotte, who haven't done this sort of thing before. unsurprisingly, they stayed close to their mum and dad as they received flowers and, for charlotte, a hug.

in her christmas message, the queen spoke of her delight at the birth of her eighth grandchild, archie, who is currently in canada with his parents, the duke and duchess of sussex. turning away from family matters, she acknowledged the efforts being made by young people to protect the environment. the challenges many people face today may be different from those ones faced by my generation. but i have been struck by how new generations have brought a similar sense of purpose to issues such as protecting our environment and our climate. the main theme of the broadcast was the need for reconciliation. the queen recalled the 75th anniversary of d—day lastjune. there was a lesson to be learned from it. 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.

the queen said the need to seek harmony and understanding was at the heart of the teaching ofjesus christ. many of us already try to follow in his footsteps. 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. and it is those small steps, the queen said, which can bring about the most lasting change. that description of a bumpy year is almost certainly a reference to the divisions caused by the brexit debate. but there's no denying it's been a difficult year too for the royal family. the queen, doubtless, will be hoping for a smoother passage in 2020, both for the country and for her family. nicholas witchell, bbc news, at buckingham palace. with me is our royal correspondent, nicholas witchell.

hgppy happy christmas to you, and your thoughts first of all about the queen's message. we have listened to afairfew of queen's message. we have listened to a fair few of them over the years will stop your thoughts about where this sits and what her majesty has been wanting to say this year.‘ couple been wanting to say this year.l couple of things. i think it again underlines the importance to her of her own christian faith. she generally now refers to the teachings ofjesus generally now refers to the teachings of jesus christ generally now refers to the teachings ofjesus christ and weaves the message of reconciliation around his teachings. i think it also underlines the importance to her of the wartime generation, of whom she is of course a part. in this 75th anniversary year of d—day, she made reference to that and again used at around the theme of former sworn enemies, as she said, coming together, settling differences and moving on and coming together now, 75 years after the end of the second world war, in peace and and mitty. i think that was the main message. the need for reconciliation. and

although she never mentions current political divisions, i think it is reasonable to suppose, as i said at the end of the piece, that that is the end of the piece, that that is the principal thought in her mind as she emphasises the need for the country to move on. and a thought about the reference to the bumpy year, her own family, and difficulties there that we can't escape. and we are none the wiser as to whether that was in her mind, when she talked about that bumpy year, was she talking personally or professionally as head of state? perhaps it is a mixture of both. it was a difficult year for the royal family, as we have observed by a number of occasions now, and i suppose that was brought home again this morning with the nonattendance at the main service, the main church service at 11 o'clock, of prince andrew, who chose to go privately to an earlier service, which was also attended by members of the royal family. we can see him there striding out across the fields with

his elder brother, i think, just behind him. the two of them went together. slightly misty there, not entirely clear, but i think that was a significant absence from the main service. normally one would expect to see prince andrew dare with his two daughters, beatrice with her fiance and eugenie with her husband. but i think he now appreciates he has become a bit of an embarrassment to the royal family at the moment. the foreign office says it's helping a british woman, after three members of the same family drowned in the swimming pool of a holiday resort in spain. it's thought a nine—year—old girl got into difficulties in the water, and her 16—year—old brother and theirfather died after trying to help her. the hotel has issued a statement offering their condolences to the family, and say they are assisting the authorities fully with their investigation. nick quraishi reports. the christmas holiday that turned

to tragedy in one of spain's top tourist destinations. police divers visible next to the pool which claimed the lives of the three family members. it is understood a nine—year—old girl first got into difficulty in the water. her 16—year—old brother and father, who was 52, then jumped in to try to save her. why none resurfaced from one of the many pools here is now the subject of a major investigation. hotel firm clc world resorts, which runs the complex, released a statement. it said... it goes on... the firm says it's helping the authorities fully with their investigations into the deaths, while the foreign

office has confirmed it's offering assistance to a british woman following what happened. nick quraishi, bbc news. our correspondent emily unia is here with me now. you have been following this tragic story. but it is a good 2a hours since this news emerged. are we any further forward with understanding what might have happened? we are not really. very few details have emerged. we know a sequence of events. a nine—year old girl was in the swimming pool at a big complex of 21 pools in all. she got into some kind of difficulty. her 16—year—old brother and 52—year—old father both jumped into the pool to try to rescue her and they all died. that's all we really know. we know emergency services were on the scene and people tried to resuscitate the victims and they did not succeed. other than that, there is very little detail. we have heard some rumours circulating about the availability of life guards. we don't know at the moment whether

life guards were present the time, or other life safety devices around. we are still trying to establish a lot of details but we now know a christmas eve tragedy occurred for a british family. a woman has died in a crash on the mi motorway. it happened last night on the northbound side, nearjunction i2. it was one of two accidents on the motorway overnight with police from both hertfordshire and bedfordshire forces involved. both the north and south bound carriages have now reopened. the woman who died has not yet been named. religious leaders have been giving their traditional christmas addresses. in the vatican, pope francis said "god loves everyone — even the worst of us" — thought to be a reference to abuse scandals in the catholic church. the archbishop of canterbury, justin welby, talked about the darkness of the london bridge attack. john mcmanus reports. midnight mass at manger square,

the place where, for christians, it all began just over 2000 years ago. and this year, a special link to the past — a wooden fragment which the church says is from the manger ofjesus, back in the holy land after 1300 years. the holy family famously became migrants, fleeing from king herod to the relative safety of egypt. and at the vatican city today, pope francis once again repeated his concern for the plight of those forced to leave their homes. translation: it is an injustice that makes them cross deserts and seas that become cemeteries. it is an injustice that forces them to endure unspeakable forms of abuse, enslavement and every kind of torture at inhumane detention camps. # 0 come all ye faithful. in his sermon this morning at canterbury cathedral, the archbishop of canterbury —

who was recently in the war—torn democratic republic of congo — drew a link between the suffering there and the recent terror attack in london. darkness is a monster that lies. its growling claims seem to call out with alouder volume than the love—filled whispers of light. we see the shadows out of the corner of our eyes — they may be violence, as in the congo or on london bridge. and there is one more christmas message, from british grime artist stormzy who will recite a passage from st luke's gospel. he was born on this day in the city of david, the saviour. he was the messiah.

the story of the very first christmas. the dean of westminster abbey says britain is in need of the hope offered by the christmas story. speaking before the midnight service, dr david hoyle said he was hoping the nativity could unite people after years of political conflict. our religion editor, martin bashir reports. this is the first christmas season for the new dean of westminster abbey, doctor david hoyle. an ancient cathedral where monarchs have been crowned and poets celebrated, it is at the heart of our nation, a nation that he says is bitterly divided. i see the divisions everybody else sees. i feel them. i get angry. and i get disturbed. i live in westminster where i bump into it all the time. we need some hope in all of this. i think we've become angry and i think we've become despairing. doctor hoyle says that we need an intervention from outside and that the message of christmas offers the possibility of genuine engagement without hostility.

peace isn't the moment when the arguments stop. peace is the moment when we can contain our arguments. and that's where we are really struggling at the moment, it seems to me. we can't enjoy our variety. you have to be this or that. i think the gospel suggests this and that, they are both god—given. we can do this together. the story of a child refugee born in perilous circumstances is not the image depicted on most christmas cards. and yet, as the dean of this historic abbey makes clear, redemption and reconciliation are possible, though the task ahead is a challenging one. martin bashir, bbc news. the australian prime minister, scott morrison, has praised his country's firefighters in his christmas message. hundreds of firefighters — many of them volunteers — have been battling bush fires in new south wales which began in september. the public too have been showing their gratitude to the fire service, as shiamaa khalil

reports from australia. taking a brief christmas break before heading back to the fire front lines. many of these firefighters have been working nonstop for weeks. despite a lull in the weather, with cooling temperatures and predicted rain in some areas, the risk is not over. teams brace themselves for hot conditions later in the week. the new south wales rural fire service is the world's largest volunteer organisation, with more than 70,000 members. most are local volunteers who have taken on the task to project the rural communities. and many have been overwhelmed by how people responded to their work. just overwhelming support, like. obviously all the presents and stuff for the kids. that's just what they need at the moment. i haven't even got my

christmas shopping or