Queen Elizabeth II addressed Britain on Sunday in a rare televised speech. In it, she thanked medical frontliners and promised better days. “Better days will return: we will be with our friends again; we will be with our families again; we will meet again.”

This is only the Queen’s fourth address of such a nature in her 67-year reign: while the Queen addresses the nation annually during Christmas, she has only made such speeches during the Gulf War; the 1997 death of her former daughter-in-law, Diana, Princess of Wales; and the 2002 death of her mother, Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother. “It reminds me of the very first broadcast I made, in 1940, helped by my sister. We, as children, spoke from here at Windsor to children who had been evacuated from their homes and sent away for their own safety,” she said in the speech, while the video showed a photograph of her and her younger sister, the late Princess Margaret, making that broadcast as children in Britain during the Second World War. The speech was pre-recorded at the royal residence of Windsor Castle. Over 900 years old, the complex has been a symbol of stability for the nation.

“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,” she said in the speech. She also acknowledged the efforts of those who stay at home, which in a way contributes to the efforts to defeat the global pandemic. “I also want to thank those of you who are staying at home, thereby helping to protect the vulnerable and sparing many families the pain already felt by those who have lost loved ones. Together we are tackling this disease, and I want to reassure you that if we remain united and resolute, then we will overcome it. I hope in the years to come everyone will be able to take pride in how they responded to this challenge.”

For the occasion, the queen wore a bright green dress, her signature triple-strand pearl necklace, and the rarely seen Queen Mary Turquoise and Diamond Brooch, a bequest from her grandmother, Queen Mary, who in turn received it as a wedding present in 1893 from her in-laws, the future Edward VII and Queen Alexandra. Turquoise gemstones are believed to be a talisman against danger.

“While we have faced challenges before, this one is different. This time we join with all nations across the globe in a common endeavor, using the great advances of science and our instinctive compassion to heal. We will succeed — and that success will belong to every one of us,” The Queen said.

Watch the speech here: youtu.be/2klmuggOElE. — JLG

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