A Generation That's ‘As Strong As Any'

As virus claims another 708 lives, including a child aged five, Queen urges Britons to make descendants proud and prove that we are...

- Richard Palmer

The Queen will tonight urge Britons to take pride in their response to the coronavirus crisis and to keep battling it in a way that will inspire future generations.

In a historic television address, the 93-year-old monarch will rally the nation for the next stage in the desperate fight against the disease.

It comes after it was confirmed that a five-year-old child with underlying health conditions was among 708 people who died from Covid-19 in the latest daily tally – the highest so far. It brings the total number of confirmed deaths in the UK to 4,313, with almost 42,000 cases in all.

In tonight’s address, to the nation and parts of Common wealth, the Queen will challenge all of us to act in a way to ensure those who follow say this generation was as strong as any of our forefathers.

In the broadcast recorded in the White Drawing Room at Windsor Castle, she will say: “I am 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 to many and enormous changes to the daily lives of us all.”

In a faint echo of Sir Winston Churchill’s galvanising “finest hour” speech of 1940, she will appeal to her fellow countrymen’s sense of history in her typically understated way.

Speaking about how the nation has reacted to the pandemic so far, the Queen will say: “I hope in the years to come everyone will be able to take pride in how they responded to this challenge.