Queen Elizabeth II To Address U.K. In Rare Televised Speech About The Coronavirus - NPR

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Britain's Queen Elizabeth II arrives to attend the annual Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey in London on March 9. In a rare address to the nation on Sunday, the queen plans to exhort Britons to rise to the challenge of the coronavirus pandemic. Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP hide caption

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Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP

Queen Elizabeth II will address the United Kingdom on Sunday in a rare speech, urging self-discipline and resolve in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. The queen, 93, will acknowledge the grief and financial pain that Britons are enduring and thank health workers on the front lines of the crisis.

"I hope in the years to come everyone will be able to take pride in how they responded to this challenge," the queen will say, according to a transcript, "and those who come after us will say that the Britons of this generation were as strong as any."

The line is a clear reference to Britain's World War II generation, which endured the Blitz and battled the Nazis to help free Europe from fascism. A single cameraman wearing protective gear filmed video of the queen's speech at her weekend home, Windsor Castle, outside London, while all other technical staff remained in another room, according to the BBC.

The U.K. is now on a soft lockdown. People are allowed to venture out of their homes only for grocery shopping, medical reasons and exercise. But the government has warned that outdoor exercise could be banned if people continue to crowd parks and fail to socially distance on this sunny weekend when the temperatures in Greater London have risen to 70 degrees.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Boris Johnson remains in self-isolation after testing positive for COVID-19, while Carrie Symonds — his pregnant fiancée — has COVID-19 symptoms but says she's now doing better.

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2020-04-05 18:38:46Z
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