06 April 2020 - Queen tells the UK 'We will succeed'
Coronavirus: Queen tells UK 'we will succeed' in fight
(BBC News, 05/04/2020)
The Queen has said the UK "will succeed" in its fight against the coronavirus pandemic, in a rallying message to the nation.
In a rare speech, the monarch thanked people for following government rules to stay at home and praised those "coming together to help others".
She also thanked key workers, saying "every hour" of work "brings us closer to a return to more normal times".
The Queen's coronavirus speech transcript: 'We will succeed and better days will come'
Telegraph Reporters (The Telegraph, 05/04/2020)
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.
I want to thank everyone on the NHS front line, as well as care workers and those carrying out essential roles, who selflessly continue their day-to-day duties outside the home in support of us all. I am sure the nation will join me in assuring you that what you do is appreciated and every hour of your hard work brings us closer to a return to more normal times.
Queen praises the people, if not the government, and pulls off a tough gig
John Grace (The Guardian, 05/04/2020)
Now we know just how serious things are. The UK has just wheeled out its biggest gun. The Queen has only ever given an unscheduled TV address to the nation on four previous occasions, either when the nation or the royal family itself was under threat. And as sure as hell Her Majesty wasn’t about to update us on Prince Andrew handing himself over to the FBI or Harry and Meghan’s ongoing flat hunting nightmare; this could only mean the country was in a coronavirus crisis.
Keeping one hand firmly clasped around her wrist and her body a safe distance from a lone BBC cameraman dressed in a hazmat suit – there’s no shortage of personal protective equipment in Windsor Castle – the Queen, interspersed with footage of NHS workers and the wider general public, spoke to the country from her study. Wisely, she kept it short and sweet. This wasn’t a Christmas message when half the country would be pissed and the other half wouldn’t be listening. Now every sentence would be picked over and every word would count.
Which other times has the Queen addressed the nation as she prepares to do so over Covid-19?
Caroline Westbrook (Metro, 05/04/2020)
The monarch is set to tell the nation that the current generation ‘is as strong as any’ when it comes to the ‘enormous changes’ they are currently facing. It’s only the fifth time that the Queen has addressed the nation in a time of grief and crisis during her 68-year reign. But when were the other occasions that she gave such an address?
Queen: 'Stay in't 'ouse, you'll be reet'
(The Daily Mash, 06/04/2020)
The Queen has instructed Britain to stay indoors, sup a few cans, watch telly and keep its head down until ‘all this bollocks is over’.
In a stirring address to the nation Her Royal Majesty told her subjects to give each other ‘a wide bloody berth’ in public and that ‘if they want a bit of sun, there’s nowt wrong wi’ laying out in’t yard’.
The historic address, only the fifth special televised broadcast of her reign and the first since since her emotional tribute to Sir Alex Ferguson after his 2013 resignation, was made from her palace in Bolton and focused on good solid common sense.