Coronavirus: Queen to tell nation to show typical British resolve in rare address
‘Those who come after us will say that the Britons of this generation were as strong as any’
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Your support makes all the difference.The Queen is to urge the nation to show its traditional “quiet, good-humoured resolve” in the face of the coronavirus outbreak.
In a rare televised message to be broadcast on Sunday evening, Elizabeth II will acknowledge the grief and financial hardship experienced by the public as the UK faces a third week on lockdown.
She will also personally thank healthcare workers on the front line and recognise the pain already suffered by some families.
The 93-year-old monarch will say: “I am speaking to you at what I know is an increasingly challenging time.
“A time of disruption in the life of our country: a disruption that has brought grief to some, financial difficulties to many, and enormous changes to the daily lives of us all.
“I hope in the years to come everyone will be able to take pride in how they responded to this challenge.
“And those who come after us will say that the Britons of this generation were as strong as any.
“That the attributes of self-discipline, of quiet good-humoured resolve and of fellow-feeling still characterise this country.”
The Queen will also thank those who are following the official guidance to stay at home to protect the vulnerable.
Her message was recorded at Windsor Castle where the monarch is staying with her husband Prince Philip, 98. The cameraman, who was the only other person present, was wearing personal protective equipment and maintained the recommended distance from the Queen at all times.
Elizabeth usually only broadcasts to the nation with her annual televised Christmas Day message. This special address will be only the fifth she has made – the last one was in 2012, to mark her 60th year on the throne.
She also gave an address at the start of the Gulf War in 1991, a live broadcast after the funeral of her daughter-in-law Princess Diana in 1997 and after her mother’s death in 2002.
Since the start of the outbreak the royal family have cancelled or postponed several public events and have conducted some of their royal duties by phone or video link.
The Queen’s son and heir Prince Charles, 71, opened the new NHS Nightingale hospital in east London while staying at his home in Birkhall, Aberdeenshire.
Additional reporting by agencies
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