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Queen's Christmas message filmed at partying Bishop's cathedral
Last updated at 16:07pm on 25.12.06
Message: The Queen's Christmas message was filmed at Southwark Cathedral
The Queen visits a school and broadcasts a segment of her speech there surrounded by pupils
The Queen recorded her Christmas message this year at Southwark Cathedral.
It was filmed before the recent alleged incident involving the Bishop of Southwark after a party came to light.
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The Queen is seen with the Dean of Southwark the Very Rev Colin Slee. The Bishop did not appear in the footage accompanying the broadcast, but there were never any plans for him to do so.
A Buckingham Palace spokesman said: "The Dean of Southwark is responsible for the cathedral and therefore it was him that we made the arrangements with."
The Bishop, the Rt Rev Tom Butler, lost his belongings and suffered head injuries after a Christmas party.
There were accounts of him throwing toys around in the back of a parked Mercedes and declaring: "I'm the Bishop of Southwark. It's what I do."
But he has said he can remember nothing of the journey home from the party at the Irish Embassy in London earlier this month and said it would have been "entirely out of character" if he had been drunk.
Muslims praying in a mosque featured in the Queen's speech today for the first time in the history of the Royal Christmas broadcast.
Men were shown at Friday Prayers in the London Central Mosque near Regent's Park as part of the footage accompanying the monarch's message.
With its huge gold dome, the mosque, which is also home to the Islamic Culture Centre, was built in 1978.
It has been described as the UK's first large mosque, and it was the work of English architect Frederick Gibberd.
The 2.3-acre site was presented as an unconditional gift from the Government to the UK Muslim Community in Britain.
It was also given as a mark of respect to the many Muslims who fought with British armed forces in First and Second World Wars.
The site was officially opened by the Queen's father, King George VI, in 1944.
According to its website, the mosque can accommodate 4,500 worshippers, rising to 6,000 when the open forecourt is used in the summer. It has been described as the focus of Islam in the UK.
The late Dr Zaki Badawi, Britain's most influential Muslim and a close friend of the Prince of Wales, was the chief imam there in the Seventies.
During the Queen's Broadcast, which highlighted the common bonds between different religions, the footage showed a young Muslim boy in the mosque, who raised his head to look around before returning to his prayers.
There were also scenes of the opening of Europe's largest Hindu temple, the Shri Venkateswara (Balaji) in Tividale in the West Midlands and from a Jewish reception at St James's Palace attended by the Queen and the Chief Rabbi Sir Jonathan Sacks.
