The Queen's rare televised speech about coronavirus included an emotional anecdote

‘We will meet again’

Coronavirus has changed life as we know it. And with the UK currently on lockdown, extreme measures are being taken.

The UK government has issued precautionary guidelines to follow in order to control the outbreak, with even members of the royal family following suit.

The Queen has been isolating in Windsor Castle with Prince Philip, tended to a skeleton team of just eight staff members. But despite remaining behind closed doors, she has been more active than ever, playing an important role in reassuring the nation.

Last night, Queen Elizabeth made a rare televised speech to ‘calm Britain’s nerves’ and lift the nation’s morale.

‘While we have faced challenges before, this one is different,’ the monarch said in her speech after thanking the hardworking NHS staff on the front line and individuals for staying at home to help others.

‘This time we join with all nations across the globe in a common endeavour, 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.

‘We should take comfort that while we may have more still to endure, better days will return: we will be with our friends again; we will be with our families again; we will meet again.’

The Queen also went on to share a heartfelt anecdote in her speech, reminiscing about her first radio broadcast, in 1940, where she and Princess Margaret spoke directly to child evacuees.

‘Today, once again, many will feel a painful sense of separation from their loved ones,’ she explained. ‘But now, as then, we know, deep down, that it is the right thing to do.

‘The pride in who we are is not a part of our past, it defines our present and our future.’