Queen Elizabeth II used her traditional Christmas broadcast Thursday to call for reconciliation throughout the United Kingdom and to praise medical workers fighting Ebola in Africa.
She said it will take time to heal divisions in Scotland, where a referendum was held this year on whether to remain part of Britain, and praised progress resolving the conflict in Northern Ireland.
The queen writes her own Christmas speech, which is recorded and televised in many parts of the world.
The queen and her close family celebrated Christmas at the Sandringham estate in Norfolk. The royals attended a church service Christmas morning before a gala lunch. Prince William and his pregnant wife Kate were present, but their toddler son, Prince George, didn't go to church. - AP