Queen’s rousing message: Monarch to deliver a rallying cry to the nation on Sunday

The Queen will tonight deliver a rallying cry to the nation in which she expresses hope that the ‘quiet, good-humoured resolve’ of the British people will help to overcome the coronavirus crisis.

Invoking the spirit of the Second World War, the 93-year-old monarch will tell tens of millions of TV viewers: ‘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.’

In the televised broadcast, recorded in extraordinary circumstances at Windsor Castle with a sole cameraman dressed in protective clothing, the Queen will confront the scale of the task facing the country.

‘I am speaking to you at what I know is an increasingly challenging time,’ she will say.

‘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.’

In only the fifth such address of her 68-year reign, the Queen will also thank NHS staff and other key workers.

Details of the speech emerged as the UK death toll rose by 708 – the highest daily increase so far – to 4,367. The latest victims included a five-year-old child, the youngest known victim in Europe since the pandemic began.

The UK epicentre has now moved to the West Midlands where there were 212 deaths, compared to 127 in London. The increase prompted ministers to accelerate work to transform the Birmingham NEC into a 2,000-bed hospital.

In a further day of rapid developments:

• Chancellor Rishi Sunak clashed with Health Secretary Matt Hancock over the timetable for lifting the lockdown;
• Michael Gove said seven healthcare workers had died, and the mother of one of them detailed harrowing conditions on virus wards;
• The Government announced that 300 ventilators had arrived from China with the first new British-made machines ready this weekend;
• Watford Hospital was forced to declare a ‘critical incident’ after problems with its oxygen supply;
• Up to 4,000 prisoners are to be given early release and others moved to former military bases to try to slow the rate of infection in jails;
• NHS England medical director Stephen Powis pleaded with the public not to leave home to enjoy the sunshine, adding: ‘Please don’t go outside to visit the lakes, the beaches, the countryside’;
• Ministers have been told there is now a ‘credible’ chance that the pandemic began when a virus escaped from a Wuhan laboratory, not at a meat market;
• Academics demanded the Chinese pay £350 billion to the UK in reparations for the economic destruction wrought by the virus;
• Fifteen Tory MPs led by former Deputy PM Damian Green urged Boris Johnson to ‘rethink and reset’ Britain’s relations with China;
• New Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer vowed to ‘engage constructively’ with the Government on the crisis, ahead of a briefing by the Prime Minister this week;
• The total number of global cases exceeded 1.1 million with 60,000 deaths, including a daily record of 630 in New York, but there were cautious signs of hope in Spain with fatalities dipping below 900 for the first time in three days and Italy where the number of Covid-19 patients in intensive care fell;
• Diplomatic sources said they expected the Government to ask for the Brexit deadline to be delayed beyond December on a rolling basis;
• Several mobile phone masts were set on fire over baseless conspiracy theories linking 5G to coronavirus;
• Interpol said hospitals on the front line of the pandemic are facing a large increase in attempted cyber-attacks;
• The Virtual Grand National was won by 18-1 shot Potters Corner.

The Queen’s message, which will be broadcast at 8pm this evening, was filmed in the White Drawing Room at Windsor Castle, where she remains in isolation with the Duke of Edinburgh.

Prince Philip is understood to have advised on the tone and delivery of the message. The Queen had earlier taken part in her first-ever ‘remote’ video-link Privy Council meeting.

The Government and palace aides had initially considered broadcasting the address on Easter Sunday, but the rapid spread of coronavirus meant it was brought forward. 

A source told The Mail on Sunday: ‘These national addresses are extremely rare and have to be timed at exactly the right moment.

‘We only have one shot at this. It’s not something that can be repeated in a few weeks’ time, but things were moving quickly and that seemed like quite a way off.’

Sources also outlined concerns that the Queen might have been criticised had she waited too long to speak publicly – an accusation that she faced after the death of Princess Diana in August 1997.

Last night, a senior Downing Street official said: ‘The Prime Minister and the Queen have been speaking regularly. ‘The Queen is the best judge of when to talk to the country and we absolutely agree that now is the right time.

‘We have asked the country to make huge sacrifices and life is very difficult at the moment for a great many people. Hearing from Her Majesty is an important way of helping to lift the nation’s spirits.’

The official added: ‘We are two weeks into some very restrictive measures on the public. We’re asking people to stay indoors, to not go about their life in the usual way. Sadly, we have also seen a significant number of deaths over the course of the past week.

‘We’ve always said that Her Majesty would be the best judge the right time to speak to the nation but we agree that now is that moment.’