Queen Elizabeth Addressed U.K. In Video Amid Coronavirus Crisis
In a rare televised address on Sunday, Queen Elizabeth II urged the United Kingdom to respond to the coronavirus pandemic with the “self-discipline” and “resolve” that have defined the British people in moments of crisis. It’s just the fifth time that the queen, who traditionally speaks to the nation once a year on Christmas Day, has addressed the British people in this way during her 68-year reign.
Her only other addresses came during the Gulf War in 1991, before the funeral of Princess Diana in 1997, after the death of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother in 2002, and on the 60th anniversary of her accession to the throne in 2012, per the BBC.
Below is a portion of the speech:
“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 the Britons of this generation were as strong as any. That the attributes of self-discipline, of quiet good-humored resolve and of fellow-feeling still characterize this country… While we have faced challenges before, this one is different. This time we join with all nations across the globe in a common endeavor, 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.”
A post shared by The Royal Family (@theroyalfamily) on Apr 5, 2020 at 12:01pm PDT
