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. and lift off! the world's most powerful telescope has blasted into space — soon to offer unprecedented images of the universe. # while we're here can we all spare a thought # for the ones who have gone #. and christmas with ed sheeran and elton — we find out how the stars spend the festive period. 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. she said there was "one familiar laugh missing", and expressed empathy with other families who'd lost loved ones this year. 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 at st george's chapel 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. so 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, platinum jubilee. nicholas witchell, bbc news, buckingham palace. our royal correspondent sarah campbell is with me. so many people commenting about how personal that message was, the speech, and how touched everybody was buy it. speech, and how touched everybody was bu it. , , , was buy it. absolutely, everything about it, from _ was buy it. absolutely, everything about it, from the _ was buy it. absolutely, everything about it, from the photograph - was buy it. absolutely, everything about it, from the photograph onl was buy it. absolutely, everything i about it, from the photograph on the desk which was taken to mark their diamond wedding anniversary, the brooch that she was wearing, which she wore on her honeymoon in 1947, and you know, her christmas broadcasts always have a theme and it is not surprising that this year, when she lost her husband of 73 years, that prince philip was the thread that runs through the entire broadcast and as you say, many people said it was very poignant and personal because the queen is not somebody who tends to wear her heart on her sleeve and talk with such affection, i think, on her sleeve and talk with such affection, ithink, so on her sleeve and talk with such affection, i think, so publicly and thatis affection, i think, so publicly and that is what made it different and as i say, not surprising after the year she has had. looking back at prince philip's death but also i think she looked forward, to 2022, didn't she? it is a big year, a historic year, in february, she will be the first british monarch ever to have achieved 70 years on the throne, her platinum jubilee and thatis throne, her platinum jubilee and that is what 2022 is going to be about. she talked about the commonwealth baton relay, the commonwealth baton relay, the commonwealth games happening injuly next year will be one of the highlights of the platinum jubilee and she talked in her speech about the fact he wanted it to be a time of togetherness, for people to come together which of course they have done for the golden jubilee together which of course they have done for the goldenjubilee and the silver do and the diamond jubilee and people are hoping on thatjune weekend that they will be able to do so, pandemic allowing, for the platinumjubilee. so, pandemic allowing, for the platinum jubilee.— so, pandemic allowing, for the platinum jubilee. what can you tell us about the _ platinum jubilee. what can you tell us about the security _ platinum jubilee. what can you tell us about the security incident - platinum jubilee. what can you tell us about the security incident thatl us about the security incident that took place?— us about the security incident that took lace? . , ., , ., , took place? that news was released this afternoon _ took place? that news was released this afternoon by _ took place? that news was released this afternoon by thames _ took place? that news was released this afternoon by thames valley - this afternoon by thames valley police, at 8:30am, about two hours after we saw those pictures of prince charles and camilla, the duchess of cornwall, walking towards saint george's chapel, two hours before, rather, we know a teenager armed with what the police have described as an offensive weapon was arrested within windsor castle's grounds. superintendent rebecca mears from thames valley police said security processes were triggered within moments of the man entering the grounds. he did not enter any buildings. the royalfamily were informed. we know this is a 19—year—old from southampton. he is now in custody, arrested on suspicion of breach of trust part of a protected site and possession of an offensive weapon.— a protected site and possession of an offensive weapon. sarah campbell, thank ou an offensive weapon. sarah campbell, thank you very — an offensive weapon. sarah campbell, thank you very much. _ the leader of the roman catholic church, pope francis, in his annual christmas day speech, has said the effects of the pandemic threatened efforts to resolve conflicts on an international level. around the world, there were smaller crowds at church services and other events because of the coronavirus outbreak. sadat ahmed bakir has this report. mass wearing masks. that is the theme of the day, of this second christmas under the shadow of the coronavirus pandemic. even main traditional christmas events such as the pope's urbi et 0rbi message were scaled back, with fewer visitors allowed in, pointing to ongoing turmoil in syria, yemen and iraq, pope francis said the world is becoming desensitised to suffering. the pontiff called for more dialogue and warned against a tendency to withdraw. translation: in this time | of pandemic, we have come to realise this even more. 0ur 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 to do things together. 0n the international level, too, there is the risk of avoiding dialogue, the risk that this complex crisis will lead to taking short cuts. in the west bank city of bethlehem, where christians believejesus was born, the numbers were also lower than usual, as israel closed its borders forforeigners in an effort to rein in the infections. the latin patriarch ofjerusalem led prayers at the the church of the nativity�*s ancient prayer hall. the leader of the anglican church, the archbishop of canterbury, praised the work of volunteers helping refugees in his christmas sermon. 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. this christmas is also the occasion for a special service for the first time in 30 years at srinagar�*s st luke's church. the 125—year—old place of worship in the indian administered kashmir was shut down three decades ago when the separatist violence began. christmas gatherings will be easier than a year ago in many other places around the world. for example, most australians are allowed to travel interstate for the festive break for the first time in two years. as sydney's catholic archbishop puts it, christmas was a real light in dark times. sadat ahmed bakir, bbc news. 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. 0ur science correspondent rebecca morelle reports. and we have engine start. and lift—off. the start of a blockbuster astronomy mission. james webb begins a voyage back to the birth of the universe. inside this rocket is the biggest telescope ever sent into space. punching a hole through the clouds. 20 seconds into the flight... this is the james webb space telescope. it's a successor to hubble, but 100 times more powerful. after three decades in the making, and a cost of $10 billion, it's finally on its way. we've never attempted anything like that in space before. we're going to be entering a whole new regime of astrophysics. a new frontier. and that is what gets so many of us excited about james webb space telescope. this space telescope is a feat of engineering. at its heart is a 6.5 metre—wide mirror, made up of 18 hexagonal segments, each coated in a layer of gold. its size means it can detect the incredibly faint light coming from the most distant stars. it also has a huge sun shield, about the size of a tennis court. it's made up of five layers, each as thin as a human hair, and this protects the telescope from the heat and light of the sun. sitting a million miles away from the earth, the telescope will give us our deepest ever view of the cosmos. from seeing the birth of the very first stars and galaxies, to revealing new planets in far—flung solar systems. what excites me is making discoveries, things we haven't thought about. and there's a whole history of astronomy that shows how, when we've looked at the universe in a new way, we discover things we hadn't thought about. and there's something really exciting about doing that. to get into space, the telescope is so big, it's been folded up to fit inside the rocket. the most challenging part is getting it to unfurl. it's been practised here on earth, and that's hard enough. there are 300 points where it could go wrong, but if anything fails in space, the telescope is too far away to be fixed. this is the most ambitious space telescope ever built. now its mission has finally begun and our view of the universe is about to be transformed. rebecca morelle, bbc news. security forces in the sudanese capital, khartoum, have fired tear gas in an effort to disperse the latest pro democracy protests. the demonstrators converged on the presidential palace for the second time in a week, but were met by a heavy security presence. earlier, the military government restricted phone and internet services and blocked roads leading to the city. at least 48 protestors have been killed since a coup in october. the latest 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 pandemic. a 19—year—old man has been arrested on suspicion of trespassing in the grounds of windsor castle, 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. 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 land, scotland and wales. vaccination centres are closed in northern ireand, scotland and wales. 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 0micron variant. this pharmacy in north 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 off the street 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 2, 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. the former england test cricket captain, ray illingworth, has died. he was 89 and had been undergoing treatment for oesophageal cancer. he had a 15—year test career, playing 61 times for england. joe wilson looks back at his career. 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 would say 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 illingworth off when england won the match and the series. this must surely be the greatest moment of ray illingworth's cricketing life. english cricket appointed a new man today — ray illingworth becomes chairman of selectors. in his time as chief administrator of english cricket wasn't as successful. 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 accounts. first, for using dirt. secondly, for giving incomplete evidence to the match referee. but tt his adopted county, leicestershire, and his native yorkshire, illingworth 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 impact of super typhoon rai is being felt all the more acutely today as families face christmas in the wake of disaster. the un says 3 million people are in need of assistance. tanya dendrinos reports. (tx it is one of the largest christian nations in the world, but on one of the most important days in the religious calendar, the philippines is reeling. last week, supertyphoon rai devastated the country's south—eastern islands. many have lost everything. translation: it will be a sad christmas. i we have no party food, but at least we are alive. it is better than welcoming christmas with a dead loved one. we thank god that our family and our community was spared. the un says three million people are in need of assistance, among them around a million children. translation: it is difficult, | it is difficult because we don't have food, we are just begging. rai has been the most powerful storm to hit the philippines this year, claiming at least 375 lives. scientists say climate change is causing typhoons to become more powerful and strengthen more rapidly, an ominous warning for action with no stopping the force of mother nature. tanya dendrinos, bbc news. 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. 0ur 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 and 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. 0k, 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 nicest 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 it and pretend you're playing, but, 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 from 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 wonderful thing about christmas songs, they are going to be around forever and hopefully this one that people carry on listening to. # 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 themed songs have topped the charts at christmas, raising money forfood canks. this year there is all—star support. # get to the kitchen for sausage roll. # drop your toys. # 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 food banks in england and they've done it by bringing joy to people and bringing a really fun song onto 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, i'm 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. 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 a strengthening south—easterly wind. but we have seen a sprinkling of snow today in shetland, 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, and 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, even very 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 in the grounds of windsor castle, 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. and lift off. the world's most powerful telescope has launched 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. and christmas with ed sheeran and elton, theirfirst festive collaboration. now on bbc news, our world: lockdown in london. filmed from the start of the first lockdown,