The Queen has said the UK “will succeed” in its fight against the coronavirus pandemic but acknowledged there may be “more to endure” before normality can return to the country.
In a rare televised address to the nation, the UK’s head of state delivered a message of hope, saying if people “remain united and resolute” in the face of the outbreak “we will overcome it”.
She thanked frontline NHS staff, care workers and others for “selflessly” carrying out their essential roles during the crisis and echoed the words of Dame Vera Lynn when she told the British public: “We will meet again”.
The Queen spoke as the country approached its third week in lockdown as part of efforts to slow the spread of Covid-19, which has already led to the deaths of nearly 5,000 people.
“We will succeed – and that success will belong to every one of us,” she said in her address from Windsor Castle, which was pre-recorded before this weekend.
“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.