‘A Better Day Will Return’ After Coronavirus, Says Queen Elizabeth II in Televised Address

Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II re-assured the public that “a better day will return” where people will be able to reunite with friends and family after the coronavirus pandemic.

In a televised address on Sunday, the 93-year-old monarch said: “I hope in the years to come everyone will be able to take pride in how they responded to this challenge,” she said. “And those who come after us will say that the Britons of this generation were as strong as any.”

“We should take comfort that while we may have more to endure, a better day will return. We will be with our again, our families again, we will meet again.”

She thanked the front line and care workers, as well as the public for staying at home.

She recalled her first broadcast in 1940 as a teenager growing up during the Second World War, with her sister Margaret. “We, as children, spoke from here at Windsor to children who had been evacuated from their homes and sent away for their own safety. Today, once again, many will feel a painful sense of separation from their loved ones. But now, as then, we know, deep down, that it is the right thing to do.”

The speech, which was recorded at Windsor Castle by a single cameraman wearing protective equipment to stop the spread of the coronavirus, revoked echoes of wartime, with the Queen saying: “The moments when the UK has come together will be remembered.”

“This time we join with all nations in a common endeavour … we will succeed and that success will belong to every one of us. Better days will endure.”

Other than her annual Christmas address, the monarch rarely makes such public announcements.

The Queen’s son and the heir to the throne, Prince Charles, suffered with the coronavirus but has since recovered after displaying mild symptoms and self-isolating.