The Queen will call on the nation to display “self-discipline, quiet good-humoured resolve and fellow feeling” as the Coronavirus crisis continues.
In a “deeply personal” televised address to the country and the Commonwealth at 8pm on Sunday she will thank those working on the NHS front line, care workers, and people carrying out essential roles. In the 4 minute 30 second broadcast, the monarch will also recognise the pain already felt by many families and thank people for staying at home to protect the vulnerable.
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A royal source said: “The broadcast is a deeply personal message from Her Majesty reflecting her experience in other difficult times.”
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This is only the fifth time she has recorded a televised message to the nation other than at Christmas
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The Queen 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.”
Reflecting on how the nation has reacted to the pandemic, she will say: “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 was filmed at Windsor Castle last week by a solo cameraman wearing protective equipment following specific advice from the Medical Household.
The room was chosen so that an appropriate distance could be maintained, while other technical staff assisted with the broadcast from another room connected by speakers.
The monarch has been at Windsor for the past fortnight, where she is isolating with her husband the Duke of Edinburgh and a small group of staff.
This is only the fifth time she has recorded a televised message to the nation other than at Christmas.
Her previous addresses came during the first Gulf War in 1991, and following the deaths of Diana, Princess of Wales in 1997 and the Queen Mother in 2002. She also recorded a televised message to mark her Diamond Jubilee in 2012.
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