Christmas Special: Did the late Queen secretly reference a Prime Minister's illness in her Christmas speech?

Since Attlee & Churchill

If you're British or live in a Commonwealth realm, the Sovereign's Christmas message is synonymous with Christmas. And it's one of those broadcasts that we're talking about in this festive special of 'Since Attlee & Churchill'. In particular, Richard and Lee ask whether, in her 2013 Christmas message, Elizabeth II made a covert reference to the illness of one of her former prime ministers.
In this episode, we mention the following books/articles:
'The Queen' by Ben Pimlott. Available here: https://amzn.to/41JdDKx
'The Way the Wind Blows' by Alec Douglas-Home. Available here: https://amzn.to/3VSrRVA
'Breaking the Code: Westminster Diaries' by Gyles Brandreth. Available here: https://amzn.to/49VAyEE
'Harold Wilson and the "Big Six"' by Michael Lloyd-Jones. Available here: https://amzn.to/3VSrJFA

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Since Attlee & Churchill is the podcast all about post-war British political history, hosted by:
Lee David Evans is an historian of the Conservative Party and the John Ramsden Fellow at the Mile End Institute, Queen Mary, University of London. He is on social media @LeeDavidEvansUK.
Richard Johnson is a Senior Lecturer at Queen Mary, University of London, and among his other areas of expertise is an historian of the Labour Party. He tweets at @richardmarcj.