Liz's YouTube debut

Below is the full text of Queen Elizabeth II's Christmas message for 2007.

To view the video version of this message on Her Majesty's new YouTube.com channel, please click on this.

The address opens with Queen Elisabeth's very first televised Christmas message, broadcast 50 years ago.

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The Christmas Broadcast 2007

One of the features of growing old is a heightened awareness of change.

To remember what happened 50 years ago means that it is possible to appreciate what has changed in the meantime.

It also makes you aware of what has remained constant.

In my experience, the positive value of a happy family is one of the factors of human existence that has not changed.

The immediate family of grandparents, parents and children, together with their extended family, is still the core of a thriving community.

When Prince Philip and I celebrated our Diamond Wedding last month, we were much aware of the affection and support of our own family as they gathered round us for the occasion.

Now today, of course, marks the birth of Jesus Christ.

Among other things, it is a reminder that it is the story of a family; but of a family in very distressed circumstances.

Mary and Joseph found no room at the inn; they had to make do in a stable, and the new-born Jesus had to be laid in a manger.

This was a family which had been shut out.

Perhaps it was because of this early experience that, throughout his ministry, Jesus of Nazareth reached out and made friends with people whom others ignored or despised.

It was in this way that he proclaimed his belief that, in the end, we are all brothers and sisters in one human family.

The Christmas story also draws attention to all those people who are on the edge of society - people who feel cut off and disadvantaged; people who, for one reason or another, are not able to enjoy the full benefits of living in a civilised and law-abiding community.

For these people the modern world can seem a distant and hostile place.

It is all too easy to 'turn a blind eye', 'to pass by on the other side', and leave it to experts and professionals.