Queen to praise the strength of the nation in her coronavirus television address

The Queen will speak of her pride in how the nation has responded to the coronavirus crisis when she gives her televised address on Sunday evening.

She said future generations will look back on this period and praise the strength the people of the UK showed.

Royal aides called it a “deeply personal message” which will also reflect on the Queen’s own experiences of other difficult times.

She is one of the few people still alive who can remember life during World War II.

The Queen also spoke of her concern for those who had suffered grief from the virus, as she referred to “an increasingly challenging time” and “enormous changes” for the United Kingdom as it enters its third week of lockdown.

Her message was recorded this week at Windsor Castle, where she is staying during the coronavirus restrictions, and it will be broadcast by ITV and other television channels at 8pm on Sunday night.

Windsor Castle turned blue on Thursday to salute NHS workers. Credit: PA

The Queen will say: “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.”

She will also thank the nurses and doctors who are working on the frontline of the NHS and the care workers looking after the nation’s elderly.

Referring to the way the nation has responded to the challenge, she will say: “I hope in the years to come everyone will be able to take pride in how they responded to this challenge.

"And those who come after us will say that the Britons of this generation were as strong as any. That the attributes of self-discipline, of quiet good-humoured resolve and of fellow-feeling still characterise this country.”

The Queen recorded the message at Windsor Castle. Credit: PA

Her message includes a thank you to those who are following the guidelines and staying at home to protect the most vulnerable.

Because of the strict guidelines on social distancing, only one camera operator was allowed into the room to film the broadcast and the operator had to wear personal protective equipment.

A room at Windsor Castle was chosen that was large enough to allow for the maximum distance between the Sovereign and the camera.

Other staff from the BBC recording team were held in a separate room.

Advice from the Medical Household was followed at all times as, at age 93, the Queen is in the most vulnerable age group for Covid-19.

This will be just the fifth time in her 68-year reign that she has addressed the nation in this way.

She previously gave televised addresses at the start of the Gulf War in 1991, on the eve of Princess Diana’s funeral in 1997, after the death of the Queen Mother in 2002 and during her Diamond Jubilee in 2012.

Coronavirus: Everything you need to know