prince philip was always mindful of this sense of passing the baton — that's why he created the duke of edinburgh's award, which offers young people throughout the commonwealth and beyond the chance of exploration and adventure. it remains an astonishing success, grounded in his faith in the future. he was also an early champion of taking seriously our stewardship of the environment, and i am proud beyond words that his pioneering work has been taken on and magnified by our eldest son charles and his elder son william, admirably supported by camilla and catherine, most recently at the cop climate change summit in glasgow. next summer, we look forward to the commonwealth games.

the baton is currently travelling the length and breadth of the commonwealth, heading towards birmingham — a beacon of hope on its journey. it will be a chance to celebrate the achievements of athletes and the coming together of like—minded nations. and february, just six weeks from now, will see the start of my platinum jubilee year, which i hope will be an opportunity for people everywhere to enjoy a sense of togetherness, a chance to give thanks for the enormous changes of the last 70 years — social, scientific and cultural — and also to look ahead with confidence. i'm sure someone somewhere today will remark that christmas is a time for children. it's an engaging truth

but only half the story. perhaps it's truer to say that christmas can speak to the child within us all. adults, when weighed down with worries, sometimes fail to see the joy in simple things, where children do not, and for me and my family, even with one familiar laugh missing this year, there will be joy in christmas, as we have a chance to reminisce and see anew the wonder of the festive season through the eyes of our young children, of whom we were delighted to welcome four more this year. they teach us all a lesson, just as the christmas story does, that in the birth of a child, there is a new dawn with endless potential. it is this simplicity of the christmas story that makes it so universally appealing.

simple happenings that form the starting point of the life ofjesus, a man whose teachings have been handed down from generation to generation and have been the bedrock of my faith. his birth marked a new beginning. as the carol says, "the hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight." i wish you all a very happy christmas. # 0 little town of bethlehem # how still we see thee lie # above thy deep and dreamless sleep # the silent stars go by # yet in thy dark streets shineth # the everlasting light # the hopes and fears

of all the years # are met in thee tonight # for christ is born of mary # and gathered all above # while mortals sleep # the angels keep # their watch of wond'ring love # 0 morning stars together # proclaim thy holy birth # and praises sing to god the king # and peace to men on earth # 0 little town of bethlehem # how still we see thee lie # above thy deep

and dreamless sleep # the silent stars go by # yet in thy dark streets shineth # the everlasting light # the hopes and fears of all the years # are met in thee tonight # the hopes and fears of all the years # are met in thee tonight... # now it's time for the weather with nick miller. hello again. for most people hoping for a white christmas, it has been a grey and damp one out there. bringing a new meaning to white christmas, the foam on some of the waves

hitting parts of the coastline. and hitting parts of the coastline. a strengthening sout wind. but we have seen a sprinkling of snow in shetland, eastern scotland and higher parts of the pennines and the yorkshire dales for it to be officially declared a white christmas, but not widespread. it has been a very wet day in south—west england. this area of rain also made it wet in northern ireland. it is on the move as we get into tonight and that is butting into cold air, in southern scotland and northern endland and the peak district, pennines and southern uplands will see some snow. northern england and scotland will have a frost, and with the wind strength as it is over the pennines and the southern uplands, we will see this snow blowing around, affecting travel on the higher routes. we may see snow on lower levels in southern and central scotland for a time on sunday morning. northern scotland likely to stay dry with sunny spells. for the rest of england, wales and northern ireland, there will be another band of rain moving eastwards. showers following behind. not as windy to the

south—west, but this brisk south—easterly wind will make it feel chilly in scotland and north—east england. elsewhere not quite as cold a feel to the day. some sunny spells in wales and south—west england in the afternoon. as we get on into the evening, there is a lot of cloud and showers arriving and they push their way northwards, still a chance of hill snow in scotland. fog forms as we go into monday morning, rather a grey day for much of the uk and a chance of outbreaks of rain in south wales and southern england. moving eastwards from an area of low pressure close by. it is a touch milder, especially in england and wales. that is a trend that continues as we go towards the end of the year. we will see several areas of low pressure coming our way with spells of wind and rain, drier and brighter moments in between, but all the while we will be pumping mild air northwards across the uk, and temperatures in south—east england for a time midweek may be approaching 17 celsius.

but all areas will turn much milder, but wet at times, and the mild weather continuing into the start of the new year.

this is bbc news. the headlines. queen elizabeth speaks about her personal grief over the death of her husband prince philip in her christmas day message, saying there was "one familiar laugh missing", amid the continuing impact of the pandemic. a 19—year—old man has been arrested on suspicion of trespassing windsor castle grounds, the official residence of queen elizabeth. members of the royal family have been informed. in his christmas message, pope francis highlighted the tragedies in yemen and syria which he said are being passed over in silence. the archbishop of canterbury justin welby has called for compassion towards refugees

in his christmas sermon. the world's most powerful telescope has blasted into space, soon to offer unprecedented images of the universe. and the former england and yorkshire captain ray illingworth has died at the age of 89. now on bbc news, review 2021, the year in science. it was a year shaped by the global fight against the coronavirus pandemic but with significant developments in climate change and space exploration. our science correspondent pallab ghosh gives his analysis of the year. 2021 was the year that world

leaders agreed on a new plan to save the planet.