Queen Elizabeth addressed the United Kingdom in a message encouraging solidarity and strength amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The monarch, who left Buckingham Palace for the more rural Windsor Castle a week earlier than planned due to the pandemic, reminded the nation that it had survived and overcome so much ― and will do it again.
“We are all being advised to change our normal routines and regular patterns of life for the greater good of the communities we live in and, in particular, to protect the most vulnerable within them,” the 93-year-old wrote in the Thursday message, which the royal family shared online. “At times such as these, I am reminded that our nation’s history has been forged by people and communities coming together to work as one, concentrating our combined efforts with a focus on the common goal.”
The queen thanked those who have been and continue to be on the front lines fighting to keep people safe and healthy, adding that “we all have a vitally important part to play as individuals ― today and in the coming days, weeks and months.”
“Many of us will need to find new ways of staying in touch with each other and making sure that loved ones are safe. I am certain we are up to that challenge,” the queen added. “You can be assured that my family and I stand ready to play our part.”
While the queen still held audiences this week at Buckingham Palace, she canceled forthcoming garden parties, as well as the Maundy Service held on the Thursday before Easter.
Investiture ceremonies, as well as the planned state visit by the emperor and empress of Japan, are postponed, while the fate of Trooping the Colour ― the queen’s official birthday parade, which takes place in June ― remains up in the air.
To date, the U.K. has 2,626 confirmed cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus, according to The Guardian. So far, 103 people have died there.
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