Queen Elizabeth calls on Britons to ‘remain united and resolute’ in rare address

The UK’s Queen Elizabeth II called on the public to remain united in order to overcome the coronavirus pandemic in a rare public address Sunday.

“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 said in the address, recorded at Windsor Castle.

Her Majesty The Queen addresses the UK and the Commonwealth in a special broadcast recorded at Windsor Castle. pic.twitter.com/HjO1uiV1Tm

— The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) April 5, 2020

“I hope in the years to come everyone will be able to take pride in how they responded to this challenge,” the Queen added. “Those who come after us will say that the Britons of this generation were as strong as any.”

The 93-year-old Queen also praised Britain’s National Health Service and other essential services workers that have served during the pandemic. 

She also thanked people who are staying home, which she noted is helping to protect the more vulnerable populations. 

“I am speaking to you at what I know is an increasingly challenging time,” she said. “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.”

The address is rare for the queen. Besides her yearly Christmas message, she has given a public address similar to Sunday’s on only three previous occasions: after the Queen Mother’s death in 2002, before the funeral of Princess Diana in 1997, and during the first Gulf War in 1991, according to The Associated Press. 

Across the U.K, there’s more than 48,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases and nearly 5,000 deaths, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. 

The queen’s son, 71-year-old Prince Charles, tested positive for the coronavirus. He is in good health and has been released from self-isolation, a spokesman confirmed to BBC last week.