Queen Elizabeth II calls on the British to persevere and be disciplined in the coronavirus pandemic. This is the result of excerpts from a speech by the 93-year-old monarch, which was to be broadcast on Sunday evening (9:00 p.m. CEST). Apart from the traditional Christmas speeches, it is only the fourth such speech by the British head of state who has been in office since 1952. Previously, Elizabeth II had spoken to the British in 2002 when her mother, Queen Mum, died, before Princess Diana was buried in 1997 and during the Gulf War in 1991.
“I am addressing you at a time that I know is increasingly challenging,” the Queen said. “A time of interruption of life in our country; a disturbance that has plunged some into grief, for many financial difficulties and for all of us, means enormous changes in our daily life,” the Queen is quoted as saying.
What distinguishes the country
Hardly concealed, she alluded to the privations of the Second World War. She hoped “that the characteristics of self-discipline, quiet, good-natured determination, and compassion still characterize this country,” said the Queen. “And those who come after us will say that the British of this generation were as strong as ever.”
Their choice of words recalled a speech on the 75th anniversary of D-Day last year, the Allied landing in Normandy during the Second World War. The war generation, their generation, was resilient, she had said at the time. Now she seems to be asking the same thing from today’s British. “I hope that in the coming years everyone can be proud of how they dealt with this challenge,” said the Queen.
Recorded at Windsor Castle
The speech was recorded under strict precautions at Windsor Castle, according to the British news agency PA. The Queen and her husband, 98-year-old Prince Philip, had already retired there in mid-March. The couple is considered particularly vulnerable to Covid-19 lung disease due to their old age.
The British Department of Health recorded the highest number of deaths in one day to date, with 708 deaths on Saturday. Among them was a five year old child. In total, 4934 people died of Covid-19 lung disease in British clinics on Sunday, the ministry said. Until then, 47,806 people had tested positive for the corona virus.
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