Former DUP leader Arlene Foster to pay tribute to Queen in Christmas special on GB News - 'A Royal Year' featuring Harry and Meghan plus Prince Andrew

By Philip Bradfield
Published 21st Dec 2022, 16:49 BST
Updated 21st Dec 2022, 17:56 BST
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Former First Minister Arlene Foster will lead tributes to the groundbreaking leadership of the Queen in a special Christmas television programme due to be aired on Christmas Eve.

The programme, a Royal Year, will recall the Queen's life and a remarkable year for the royal family.

Veteran GB News presenter Alastair Stewart will recall the moment he delivered the heartbreaking news of the Queen's Death majesty’s death to the nation, in September.And experts will also reflect on scandals involving Prince Andrew and Harry and Meghan during a year which saw the royal family engulfed in crisis after crisis.

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Dame Foster tells the programme it was heartbreaking to move so quickly from the joy of seeing pictures of then Prime Minister Liz Truss enjoying her first audience with The Queen, to digesting news she’d passed away.

PA REVIEW OF THE YEAR 2022 File photo dated 10/09/22 - Members of the public gather to pay their respects on Belfast's Shankill Road following the death of Queen Elizabeth II on Thursday. Issue date: Tuesday December 20, 2022. PA Photo. Photo credit should read: Brian Lawless/PA Wire PA REVIEW OF THE YEAR 2022 File photo dated 10/09/22 - Members of the public gather to pay their respects on Belfast's Shankill Road following the death of Queen Elizabeth II on Thursday. Issue date: Tuesday December 20, 2022. PA Photo. Photo credit should read: Brian Lawless/PA Wire
PA REVIEW OF THE YEAR 2022 File photo dated 10/09/22 - Members of the public gather to pay their respects on Belfast's Shankill Road following the death of Queen Elizabeth II on Thursday. Issue date: Tuesday December 20, 2022. PA Photo. Photo credit should read: Brian Lawless/PA Wire

The former DUP leader tells the programme: “We all looked at the photographs because we hadn't seen Her Majesty for a while. We looked at her and we thought, ‘Oh, she's got small, she's looking quite frail’. But she still gave us that lovely smile.“I certainly was really pleased to see her and then all of a sudden, there was the note-passing in the Commons and people were looking very serious. Everybody was wondering what it was.“And then we realised ‘the Queen's not well’ and the fact that they had told the Prime Minister and told the Leader of the Opposition. At that point we all knew that it was a serious situation because you don't tell senior politicians that you've got a cold or whatever. We knew it was serious.She added: “I have so much admiration for the Queen because she was a female leader at a time when there weren't very many female leaders, and she was so young when she came to the throne.“I had the great privilege of meeting her in a private audience when I was First Minister. That is nerve-wracking when you're thinking about going in to meet the head of state and a lady of her stature.”A Royal Year will look back over the past 12 months with experts giving their views on the key developments.

Presented by Cameron Walker, it will be broadcast on GB News on Christmas Eve at 8pm.

Related topics:Arlene FosterFirst MinisterQueenDUP