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. and lift—off! the world's most powerful telescope has blasted into space, soon to offer unprecedented images of the universe. christmas covid vaccines are being offered to thousands of people in england, as the british government expands its booster programme to offer all adults a jab before the new year. and the former england and yorkshire captain, ray illingworth, has died at the age of 89. hello and welcome if you're watching in the uk or around the world. the queen has spoken movingly, in her christmas day message, about her grief at the death of her husband, prince philip, who died in april. the monarch poignantly reflected on a year of personal grief, saying there was "one familiar laugh missing" amid the continuing impact of the coronavirus pandemic. our royal correspondent nicholas witchell reports. windsor castle on christmas morning. the royal standard signifying that the queen was in residence. merry christmas. the prince of wales and duchess of cornwalljoined the congregation for morning service. the queen did not attend as a precaution against covid, according to officials. from the very first moments of the queen's broadcast, there was a keen sense of the loss she has felt over the death of prince philip last april, after their 73 years of marriage. although it is a time of great happiness and good cheer for many, christmas can be hard for those who have lost loved ones. this year, especially, i understand why. but for me, in the months since the death of my beloved philip, i have drawn great comfort from the warmth and affection of the many tributes to his life and work from around the country, the commonwealth and the world. his sense of service, intellectual curiosity and capacity to squeeze fun out of any situation were all irrepressible. that mischievous, inquiring twinkle was as bright at the end as when i first set eyes on him. she spoke about the happiness she gained from seeing members of her family embracing the roles and values which meant so much to her, and she recalled how her husband's work on the environment was being taken forward. i am proud beyond words that his pioneering work has been taken on and magnified by our eldest son charles, and his eldest son william, admirably supported by camilla and catherine, while covid again means we cannot celebrate quite as we may have wished. there was a passing reference to covid and a look ahead to the platinum jubilee. but this above all was a broadcast from a wife mourning her husband. there would still be joy at christmas, the queen said, even with one familiar laugh missing. a very personal message from the queen at the end of a sad and in some ways rather troubling year, with the death of her husband and difficulties within the royal family. the year has also ended with concerns about her own health, concerns which the palace does its best to downplay, preferring instead to look ahead to next year and the platinum jubilee. and our royal correspondent sarah campbell is with me now. very, very poignant message from the queen, being the first one given after the death of prince philip. yes, the death back in april, and we haven't heard the queen talking about him since then, she made a brief mention in her address at cop26, so really this was her opportunity to say what we would have known, because she was married to prince philip for 73 years. i think the level of affection, the detail, talking about the twinkle christmas, i think it was a level of poignancy and clearfrom her the affection that she offers he held for prince philip, and that was really the overarching message of the whole broadcast.— really the overarching message of the whole broadcast. looking ahead, we have still— the whole broadcast. looking ahead, we have still got _ the whole broadcast. looking ahead, we have still got a _ the whole broadcast. looking ahead, we have still got a huge _ the whole broadcast. looking ahead, we have still got a huge amount - the whole broadcast. looking ahead, we have still got a huge amount of l we have still got a huge amount of uncertainty, even as the preparation is our being made for the queen's platinumjubilee in is our being made for the queen's platinum jubilee in the coming months. , . , ., :: platinum jubilee in the coming months. , . 11, ., , platinum jubilee in the coming months. , . , ., :: , ., months. yes, celebrating 70 years on the throne. — months. yes, celebrating 70 years on the throne. the _ months. yes, celebrating 70 years on the throne, the queen _ months. yes, celebrating 70 years on the throne, the queen the _ months. yes, celebrating 70 years on the throne, the queen the longest. the throne, the queen the longest reigning monarch in british history. no other monarch has overreached their platinum jubilee, it will be quite a moment. officially it happens in february, the date of her accession, but the celebrations will be injune, and wejust do not know where we will be injune. looking back at the pictures from the golden jubilee, diamond jubilee, thousands of people getting together, street parties, big parties at the palace, with crowds, which we just haven't seen. i think everybody hoping that that will happen injune of this year, but we have to wait and see. something else i want to ask, report of an intruder, what more do we know? , ., ., , , ., know? this, two hours before we saw the pictures — know? this, two hours before we saw the pictures of— know? this, two hours before we saw the pictures of prince _ know? this, two hours before we saw the pictures of prince charles - know? this, two hours before we saw the pictures of prince charles and - the pictures of prince charles and camilla, walking towards st george's chapel, within the grounds of windsor castle, two hours before that approximately 8:30am, the police had met police arrested —— met please, 19—year—old man found within the grounds, they say she was carrying an offensive weapon amount we have a statement from thames valley police that security processes when triggered within moments of the man entering the grounds, he didn't enter any buildings and members of the royal family were informed. he is now in custody, arrested on suspicion of breach of trespass of a protected site and possession of an offensive weapon. buckingham palace have not commented, saying this is a matter for the police. commented, saying this is a matter for the police-— pope francis has called for more dialogue and warned against a tendency to withdraw during the coronavirus pandemic. here's the pope addressing a crowd at saint peter's sqaure during his christmas day speech. translation: sisters and brothers, what would our world be _ like without the patient dialogue of the many generous persons who keep families and communities together. in this time of pandemic, we have come to realise this even more. our capacity for social relationships is sorely tried. there is a growing tendency to withdraw, to do it all by ourselves, to stop making an effort to encounter others and do things together. on the international level too, there is the risk of avoiding dialogue, the risk that this complex crisis will lead to taking short cuts, rather than setting out on the longer path of dialogue. yet only those paths can lead to the resolution of conflicts and to lasting benefits for all. the archbishop of canterbury has used his christmas sermon to preach a message of support to volunteers helping refugees. the most revjustin welby was speaking at canterbury catherdral this morning the christmas story shows us how we must treat those who are unlike us, who have far less than us, who have lived with the devastating limits of war and national tragedy. there have been the volunteers who have been on my mind, welcoming and caring for refugees arriving on the beaches so close to this cathedral, and they do one thing, save life at sea. it is not politics, it is simply humanity. the biggest space telescope ever constructed has been launched into orbit. the james webb telescope is on board a european ariane rocket which took off from french guiana. it's the successor to the hubble telescope, and designed to beam back unprecedented images of the universe. it's the most powerful ever built, and the developers hope it will reveal stars and galaxies from the birth of the universe, as well as distant planets which could provide evidence of life beyond earth. i'mjoined now by dr gioia rau, an astrophysicist at nasa's goddard space flight center. this all sounds very exciting. absolutely, good morning, thank you for the invitation. this was extremely exciting this morning to watch the launch, what emotion. as you mentioned, it will revolutionise the universe, our understanding of it, it is the result of the hard work of astronomers and engineers for more than 30 years. watching it go into space was amazing, but perhaps some people will wonder why this is so special. james webb telescope is not like other telescopes, it is the most sophisticated, complex deployable, it is foldable like origami, it is the most difficult ever built by nasa, and that ever existed. it it truly was a great christmas present. indeed, very exciting for anyone with an interest in theirs, and for the rest of us, but when will we start to see the images, when will it start sending back data? how it start sending back data? now there will be... _ it start sending back data? now there will be... it _ it start sending back data? now there will be... it is _ it start sending back data? now there will be... it is at - it start sending back data? now there will be... it is at a - it start sending back data? time" there will be... it is at a stable point beyond the moon, it will orbit they are, but there will be a so—called 29 days of terror, how we call it, because it was folded to enter the rocket, so it has to deploy, and this will take 29 days to be done really perfectly, like a surgical operation. think about it, just like the sun shield, done by 100 little pieces of operation that have to be done to the millimetre, perfect. in order to make it a great telescope. the mirrors have to align, the instrument has to cool down, they have to arrive to —34 kelvin in order to work perfectly in the infrared. this will take a few months, probably in operation in three of four months. so months, probably in operation in three of four months.— months, probably in operation in three of four months. so we will be atient, three of four months. so we will be patient. but — three of four months. so we will be patient. but it _ three of four months. so we will be patient, but it is _ three of four months. so we will be patient, but it is very _ three of four months. so we will be patient, but it is very exciting, - patient, but it is very exciting, and ijust wonder, what might we learn, how will we benefit from this mission, what will it tell us?- mission, what will it tell us? james webb telescope _ mission, what will it tell us? james webb telescope will _ mission, what will it tell us? james webb telescope will be _ mission, what will it tell us? james webb telescope will be able - mission, what will it tell us? james webb telescope will be able to - mission, what will it tell us? james webb telescope will be able to see j webb telescope will be able to see unprecedented images of the universe, from galaxies to early universe, from galaxies to early universe, exoplanets, planets of her own solar system as well, infrared sensitivity is unprecedented, this will help astronomers to compare the faintest and earliest galaxies of the universe to today's galaxies, and this will hopefully ring us to understand how galaxies assemble and evolve over billions of years. also it will create better grass, helping us to take images of planets, like we imagine in science fiction. but to these images we can learn so much, we can learn how how the seasons, the rotation, weather, then we have to use that to idolise the atmosphere. we have to use that to idolise the atmosphere-_ we have to use that to idolise the atmosphere. thank you very much indeed for speaking _ atmosphere. thank you very much indeed for speaking us. _ atmosphere. thank you very much indeed for speaking us. -- - atmosphere. thank you very much | indeed for speaking us. -- analyse the absence _ indeed for speaking us. -- analyse the absence feel. _ indeed for speaking us. -- analyse the absence feel. -- _ indeed for speaking us. -- analyse the absence feel. -- absence -- l the absence feel. —— absence —— atmosphere. the former england and yorkshire cricket captain ray illingworth has died. he was 89 and had been living with cancer. our sport correspondent, joe wilson, looks back on his life. raymond illingworth, batsman, bowler, leader, a cricketer for all seasons. he began his career in the 1950s. it must be out. he finally stopped playing in the 1980s. just think, when he became england captain in 1969, they wondered then if he was too old. some people said this is too old to start being captain of england? yes, well obviously it's not a ten year policy or anything like that, but i think i am still as on the ball as i have ever been. i don't think it makes any difference. in sydney in 1971, during a fractious ashes test, he led his players off the field when beer cans were thrown from the stands. yes, he is out. the end of the match. his team—mates carried him off when england won the match and the series. this must surely be the greatest moment of ray illingworth's cricket life. english cricket appointed a new man today — ray illingworth becomes chairman of selectors. in his time as chief administrator of english cricket as selector and coach, he didn't secure the results or the dressing room harmony he once sought as a captain. i have fined michael on two counts. first, for using dirt. secondly, for giving incomplete evidence to the match referee. at his adopted county, leicestershire, and his native yorkshire, he was a master tactician. the australians regarded his england as the mentally toughest opponents they'd faced. there is no higher compliment for a man who spanned the decades of post—war cricket. the former england cricket captain, ray illingworth, who's died at the age of 89. the headlines on bbc news... 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 coronavirus pandemic. a i9—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. the former england and yorkshire captain ray illingworth has died at the age of 89. volunteers are working at vaccination centres across england today, as the push continues to give every adult a booster by the end of the month. the nhs says it expects thousands of people to receive theirjab on christmas day. vaccination centres are closed in northern ireland, scotland and wales. the government will be sending millions of text messages on boxing day, urging people to "get boosted now". as ministers consider whether tougher restricions are needed in england, the roman catholic archbishop, cardinal vincent nichols, has urged them not to close places of worship. emily unia reports. redbridge town hall in east london is one of a small number of vaccination centres in england that opened this morning, on christmas day, to help bolster the booster programme. fantastic idea to save so many lives. myjob, i am in contact with customers all the time. so i have got to keep myself safe, keep my customers safe. it is family time, the time you want to spend with your loved ones. - it is often in times like that that we get to think- through the real priorities, . and the real priorities are that you want to protect yourself and you want to protect - your loved ones. the government wants to offer all adults a booster by the end of the year, to tackle the spread of the omicron variant. this pharmacy in london has been open since eight this morning. they have got about 80 appointments pre—booked, but there is capacity for at least 400 other people to walk in from the streets and get a jab. and there was a very personal reason for opening over the christmas break. i am very close to the owners of the shop. the original owner, he passed away from covid injanuary this year, and it was a horrible experience for his family. and his sons have been working very hard to make sure no on else goes through the same thing as they did. this new variant appears to cause mild illness, which health officials have described as a glimmer of hope. it is still spreading fast, though, prompting scotland, wales and northern ireland to introduce new restrictions. in his christmas message, the head of the catholic church in england called on the government to keep places of worship open. i think we are at that point of saying we understand the risks, we know what we should do, most people are sensible and cautious. we don't need stronger impositions to teach us what to do, we know. new restrictions for england, known as step two, could see pubs and restaurants serving customers outdoors only, and a ban on different households mixing indoors. a decision on whether to bring england in line with the other uk nations could be taken early next week. emily unia, bbc news. france has broken it's daily record for covid infections. the country saw over 100,000 cases reported in the last 2a hours, with the omicron variant making up for the majority. meanwhile, it's been a chaotic christmas for thousands of people trying to catch flights home in the us, as surging covid cases have sidelined pilots and other crew members, leaving people stranded at airports. let's take a closer look at the disruption. christmas eve saw around 690 flights cancelled, leaving some travellers with no choice but to spend the night in a departure lounge. almost 900 domestic and internationalflights in and out of the country have been cancelled today. and there've also been around 800 delayed christmas day flights. most of the affected airlines have attributed the disruption to the growing number of omicron cases in the united states, which make up for nearly three quarters of the country's coronavirus cases. musicians ed sheeran and eltonjohn have certainly been busy this christmas — they released their first christmas song then collaborated with youtube stars and charity campaigners, ladbaby, who have achieved their fourth christmas number one in the uk music charts. our entertainment correspondent, colin paterson, caught up with ed recently, to find out how he celebrates christmas with his family. # build a fire and gather round the tree. # fill a glass and maybe come and sing with me. ed sheeran, here we are. how's christmas looking for you this year? christmas for me is, yeah, guess it's kind of like an olympic sport to try to avoid covid at the moment, so i'm hoping that no—one in my family goes down with it. but if they don't, then we will be, you know, watching christmas movies eating christmas food. how's lyra getting on with christmas, has she reached an age where she's excited? yeah, yeah. i think christmas is exciting for all kids of all sizes, if you are young you are excited by the shiny wrapping paper, if you are old you are excited by father christmas. have you got presents, have you nailed it? i think i have nailed it on the present front. i think what i have learnt from being a father is too much is not good. so we have one great thing that she will love. ok, is she a bbc breakfast viewer, can you share it? of course she's a bbc breakfast viewer, yeah. i won't say. she's little. i don't want her to grow up and say that i'd told her first christmas present on bbc breakfast. i wasjust thinking. you cannot be an easy person to buy christmas presents for. you know, for me, for the last ten years the best thing to get me is a framed photo or a photo album or something like that. i love remainders of great memories, so my mum and dad got me a photo album the last few years. my wife gets me framed pictures of my family, my friends get me framed pictures of them. i think that's the nice thing to have. i have an office at home that is filled up with pictures of people i love. is there a traditional game you play every year, the sheeran family favourite? we're not big gamers, no, we're not big gamers. i guess we would have played monopoly back in the day. but i think monopoly is how to find out you hate your family, basically. will you be holding the guitar on christmas day? do you have a wee singsong? idon't sing... no, my friend johnny, who made the album with me, bought me a self—playing piano that has loads of christmas songs programmed into it, so i put that piano on and itjust plays christmas songs. you don't actually have to do the playing then. you can sit by and pretend you're playing. yeah, i am not a player. i wonder if in future years, your song with elton will be in these pianos. do you know, all i hoped for the song with elton, is like — i don't care about the chart position element of it, but i really do care that people would want to listen to it next year and the year after or the year after. i think that's the one thing about christmas songs, they are going to be around forever, and hopefully this one gets people to care and listen. # while we're here, can we all. # spare a thought for the ones who have gone? # merry christmas, everyone. for three years in a row, ladbaby�*s sausage roll theme songs have topped the charts at christmas, raising money for food banks. this year there is all—star support. # get to the kitchen for sausage roll. # dance along to rock and roll. what is it that appeals to you about the whole sausage roll song? what i love about mark and rox is it's totally grassroots. they're just two people who really, really believe in trying to help out food banks in england, and they've done it by bringing joy to people and bringing a really fun song on to the airwaves. you know you are up against ed sheeran and eltonjohn, don't you? hey, for all you know this could be ed sheeran and eltonjohn. eltonjohn, this would be his first christmas number one, wouldn't it, i'm thinking? i think this would be elton's first christmas number one. and elton has rox and mark to thank for that. that's good. # sausage rolls for everyone! you'll be celebrating, i imagine, on the day. elton called me earlier and said a number one, two, three, four in australia, goodbye, and he hung up. i think elton is having a great year. laughter. the story of my life at the moment. and before we go, here in the uk it's officially a white christmas! reports of snow have been confirmed in the yorkshire dales in england, and in parts of scotland, including here in the village of insh in the highlands. there was even evidence that santa paws had visited the village of torphins, in aberdeenshire, as you can see here! don't forget you can get in touch with me and some of the team on twitter — i'm @benmboulos there has been some snowfall recorded across the north of the uk, there is an expanded range spreading from the south and west well collide with the cold air at sitting across the north and east, making it feel quite chilly across much of the north and east, even eastern parts of england today. turning snow, particularly over the high ground. wet snow for northern ireland, north wales and north midlands earlier in the night, this snow then becomes more significant across the peaks and the pennines, central and southern scotland, no doubt to lower levels. strong wind blowing, likely to see some drifting. significant accumulations likely across the northern hills, for boxing day we will see more snow drifting northwards into much of central and northern scotland, becoming confined in the afternoon. further south cloudy, milderairworking its in the afternoon. further south cloudy, milder air working its way in, precipitation reign. brightness preaching to the south—west of wales, northern ireland. like a wind, still a windy day for central and northern parts. that will make it feel quite cold again across the north and east, single figure values. milderair looming in the south, double figure values. heading to a boxing day night, that area of rain, sleet and snow drifting northwards, the milder air begins to win out, it will be reverting back to rain. across central and southern areas, drier, lighterwind, mistand for kieran there, clear spells, continuing to be mild across the south. another chiellini night in the north. this new area of low pressure drifting to south, main impact into france from monday, southern parts of britain will get swiped as it moved its way eastwards. outbreaks of persistent rain, some heavy, affecting southern england, winter picking up, quite windy for a while, further north quiet, quite a lot of cloud around, sunnier moments, northern england into much of scotland. cooler air across the north, milder despite the wind and rain across the south. things are set to turn milder in the run—up to new year, even into the start of earlyjanuary, run—up to new year, even into the start of early january, importing very mild airfrom the start of early january, importing very mild air from the south—west. areas of low pressure, some deep, expecting windy and wet weather at times, but it could become barmy mild across southern areas as we move through the week. that is your latest, see you later. 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 canterburyjustin 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. christmas covid vaccines are being offered to thousands of people in england — as the british government expands its booster programme to offer all adults a jab before the new year. and, the former england and yorkshire captain ray illingworth has died at the age of 89.