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‘We Will Overcome’: Queen Elizabeth Rallies U.K. Citizens In Rare Televised Address

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(Updated: 3:39 p.m. EDT, April 5, 2020)

Topline: Queen Elizabeth II made a rare televised address Sunday to support the British people during the coronavirus outbreak, saying that “we will overcome it,” and adding that although self-isolation is difficult, better days will return and “we will meet again.”

  • Queen Elizabeth makes an annual Christmas address, but Sunday’s speech is only the fourth time in her reign that she’s addressed the British people outside of the holidays.
  • The Queen thanked the U.K.’s front-line healthcare workers and caregivers around the country, saying the nation “will join me” in saying their work “is appreciated” and “brings us closer to a return for more normal times.”
  • The monarch also added that she hoped “everyone will be able to take pride in how they responded to this challenge” despite the difficulties of self-isolation.
  • The Queen drew a comparison between Sunday’s address and the first time she addressed the nation, at age 16, when children were evacuated for their own safety during World War II, saying that “people will feel a painful sense of separation from loved ones” but that self-isolation “is the right thing to do.”

Crucial quote: “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.”

Surprising fact: The Queen did not use the word “coronavirus” once in her address, but referred to it as a disease: “Together we are tackling this disease,” she said. “I want to reassure you if we remain united and resolute, we will overcome it.”

Big number: Over 48,400. That’s how many people in the United Kingdom have been diagnosed with COVID-19 as of Sunday afternoon, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. Nearly 5,000 have died.

Key background: Queen Elizabeth, who turns 94 this month, has reigned for 66 years, and her Sunday speech was pretaped with a great deal of caution. NPR reported that a single cameraman wearing protective gear filmed the Queen at Windsor Castle, her home. Prince Charles, the Queen’s son, became the first senior royal reported to have tested positive for the coronavirus on March 25, 2020.

Tangent: Prior to Sunday, Queen Elizabeth addressed the U.K. just three times: during the Persian Gulf War in 1991, before Princess Diana’s funeral in 1997 and after the death of the Queen Mother in 2002.

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