The Queen delivered a rare public broadcast addressing the coronavirus pandemic, reassuring the British public that there are better times ahead.
She thanked key workers for their tireless work, saying “every hour” of work “brings us closer to a return to more normal times”.
“While we have faced challenges before, this one is different,” the Queen said.
“This time we join with all nations across the globe in a common endeavour, using the great advances of science and our instinctive compassion to heal. We will succeed – and that success will belong to every one of us.
“We should take comfort that while we may have more still to endure, better days will return: we will be with our friends again; we will be with our families again; we will meet again.”
The monarch said that the public’s “painful sense of separation from their loved ones” reminded her of the experience of evacuees during World War II. While social distancing and remaining inside was difficult, she said “now, as then, we know, deep down, that it is the right thing to do.”
By remaining at home, she said, we are “helping to protect the vulnerable and sparing many families the pain already felt by those who have lost loved ones”.
“Together we are tackling this disease, and I want to reassure you that if we remain united and resolute, then we will overcome it,” she added.
Her speech marks only the fifth time that the Queen had made a public broadcast outside of her annual Christmas Day addresses. The last time she did was to celebrate her Diamond Jubilee in June 2012.
The outbreak has impacted her own family, with Prince Charles currently recovering after contracting the virus. The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh are currently self-isolating at Windsor Castle.
From Harper’s Bazaar UK
