I'm 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 too many and
enormous changes to the daily lives of
us all I want to thank everyone on the
NHS front line as well as care workers
and there's carrying out two central
roles who selflessly continue their
day-to-day duties outside the home in
support of us all I'm 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
return to more normal times I also want
to thank those of you who were 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
and those who come after us will say the
britons of this generation were as
strong as any that the attributes of
self-discipline
of quiet good-humoured resolve and a
fellow feeling still characterized this
country the pride in who we are is not a
part of our past it defines our present
and our future
[Applause]
the moments when the United Kingdom has
come together to applaud its care and
essential workers will be remembered as
an expression of our national spirit and
it's symbol will be the rainbows drawn
by children across the Commonwealth and
around the world we have seen
heartwarming stories of people coming
together to help others be it through
delivering food parcels and medicines
checking on neighbors or converting
businesses to help the relief effort and
those self isolating may at times be
hard many people of all faiths and of
none are discovering that it presents an
opportunity to slow down pause and
reflect in prayer or meditation it
reminds me of the very first broadcast I
made in 1940 helped 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 today once again
many will feel a painful sense of
separation from their loved ones
but now as then we know deep down that
it is the right thing to do
while we have faced challenges before
this one is different 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 but
for now I send my thanks and warmest
good wishes
to all emotional words from Her Majesty
the Queen there our chief correspondent
Alex Thompson joins me now with some
reflections on that message Alex the
timing of this is interesting no doubt
Downing Street and the palace will have
been in conversation for some time
absolutely these things are not simply
dreamt up and they are rare events but
you to choose a previous one the the
Gulf War 1991 that is an event that
touch many people in that the countries
of the United Kingdom this obviously
touches all of us so the timing was
absolutely crucial you pretty much have
to do it on a Sunday night although many
would argue that for most of us well
we're in Sunday exactly if you do it too
early you're engendering panic and then
Downing Street gets the blame and
obviously the government's been in the
frame in many many reasons during this
this crisis so fast that that was a
crucial factor do it too late and you
appear to be behind the curve and that
of course has been the center of the eye
of the storm for criticism against the
government so the nexus between Downing
Street and Windsor and Buckingham Palace
of course would dictate that pretty much
this was the time because that's where
the medicine is going the worst is yet
to come but the worst is now we think
imminent
we heard the Queen there talk about her
first broadcast in 1940 she has been a
constant figure a unifying figure of
many yes a unifying figure and I commend
her two things that were the video that
they used very carefully was of course
these extrordinary Thursday night 8
o'clock outpourings of of unity and
another comment by a doctor on this
programme tonight where he said how
different things are from brexit where
we talked about the disunited king of
the onion itíd king of the deep
divisions this is very British is very
consensual it is working they've got the
critical mass of people behaving
themselves it's not France we've got a
hundred thousand police and pieces of
paper when you want to go out and buy
some eggs from the shop it's not Spain
for instance where if you want your dog
more than 50 metres from your house you
look at is 600 euro fine and the police
are out there so far it's working but
they're just today underlining the
necessity that it has to go on working
the weather's getting warmer people's
tempers and
people's strengths and wherewithal to
keep to the usuals will get more and
more tested but as the government
stresses from the medics that is
absolutely crucial and that message
keeps being hammered home Alex Thompson
thank you very much