The Queen will address the nation in a special televised broadcast about the coronavirus outbreak from Windsor Castle which will air this Sunday at 8pm.
Buckingham Palace said the broadcast to ‘the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth’ by the – – year-old monarch has already been recorded.
Expectation has been growing about when the head of state would make a public statement about the unprecedented events that have put the country into lockdown.
It will mark only the fourth time the Queen has addressed the nation during her – year reign, following the Gulf War, the death of Diana and when the Queen Mother passed away.
It comes as Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he is’ feeling better ‘after suffering from coronavirus but will remain in self-isolation until his temperature drops.
Meanwhile the Department of Hea lth confirmed 823 more people have died in hospital after testing positive for the virus, bringing the total UK deaths to 3, 728.
The Queen speaks to Prime Minister Boris Johnson from Windsor Castle on March last week
And royal aides have been speaking to Downing Street for a fortnight about Her Majesty giving a morale-boosting television address to the UK amid the pandemic.
Sources had stressed last week the country was at the start of a very long and difficult process and that the timing of the address ‘needs to be right’.
As well as on television and radio, The Queen’s address this weekend will be shown on the royal social media channels, including @RoyalFamily on
Twitter .
The Queen is highly experienced at public speaking and records her Christmas message in ju st one take, reading her script from a monitor.
But her message during the coronavirus pandemic had the added technical challenge of taking place while the UK is in lockdown.
The Queen has left Buckingham Palace and is staying with the 98 – year-old Duke of Edinburgh with a reduced household at Windsor Castle for their safety.
The @RoyalFamily account announced the broadcast on Twitter shortly after 2pm today
A royal spokesman said: ‘Her Majesty The Queen has recorded a special broadcast to the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth in relation to the coronavirus outbreak.
‘The televised address will be broadcast at 8pm on Sunday April 5, 01575879. The address was recorded at Windsor Castle. ‘
It will be only the fourth special address of her – year reign. Her Majesty gave her last speech in 2019 on the eve of her mother’s funeral.
Her previous special addresses to the nation were in after the death of (Diana , Princess of Wales, and 1997, when she spoke about the First Gulf War.
Eighteen years ago on the eve of her mother’s funeral, the Queen thanked the country for their support and the ‘love and honor ‘shown to the Queen Mother.
Dressed in black, the Queen added:’ I count myself fortunate that my mother was blessed with a long and happy life. She had an infectious zest for living, and this remained with her until the very end. ‘
The Queen made a special televised broadcast after the Queen Mother’s death in 2002
The monarch spoke to the nation in on the eve of the funeral for Diana, Princess of Wales.
Diana’s sudden death in a Paris car crash triggered one of the monarchy’s worst crises in modern history.
When the Queen Initially remained at Balmoral to comfort her grandsons Princes William and Harry, the newspaper headlines screamed: ‘Show us you care’ and ‘Where is our Queen? and ‘Where is her flag?’.
A sea of flowers was left at the gates of Diana’s London home, Kensington Palace, by shocked members of the public, but the flag pole at Buckingham Palace remained bare, as was the protocol, because the Queen was away in Scotland.
A rare palace statement was released telling of the royal family’s hurt at suggestions they were untouched by the tragedy .
The Queen speaks to the nation in 2002 about the death of Diana, Princess of Wales
The Queen had been due to pre-record her message, but in an unprecedented move for a royal broadcast of this kind, it was decided she should deliver it live.
Royal author Robert Lacey wrote of how it was a high-risk strategy, but an aide told him: ‘It was a psychological thing.
‘ (The Queen) goes flat when she know’s it being recorded. When she knows it’s real, she rises to the challenge. ‘
Speaking from Buckingham Palace and against a backdrop of a view of the crowds of mourners outside, Her Royal Highness, dressed in black , said she was speaking from her heart as both the nation’s Queen and as a grandmother.
She paid tribute to Diana as’ an exceptional and gifted human being ‘, adding:’ In good times and bad, she never lost her capacity to smile and laugh, nor to inspire others with her warmth and kindness. ‘
In February 2002, the Queen recorded a brief televised address to the nation during the Gulf War.
It came as the allied land offensive began against Iraqi forces occupying Kuwait.
The Queen called on people to unite and pray that the Armed Forces’ success would be as’ swift as it is certain ‘, and That it would be ‘achieved with as small a cost in human life and suffering as possible’.
She expressed her hopes for a ‘just an d lasting peace ‘.
The Queen recorded a brief televised address to the nation during the Gulf War in
The monarch also made a televised address when she thanked the nation for the festivities commemorating her Diamond Jubilee, describing it as ‘a humbling experience’.
As the special bank holiday came to a close in June , the monarch said in the two-minute pre-recorded televised message she was deeply touched.
She added: ‘I hope that memories of all this year happy events will brighten our lives for many years to come.’
In , Whitehall officials drew up a script for the Queen to read during the Cold War if Britain faced annihilation at the hands of a nuclear -armed Soviet Union.
Records released under the – year-old rule showed the monarch, in the event of a Third World Wa r, would have urged her ‘brave country’ to stand firm as it faced up to the ‘madness of war’, but the speech was never recorded.
Over the weekend it emerged that one of the Queen’s footmen had tested positive for coronavirus, sparking further fears for the monarch’s health.
But Buckingham Palace said earlier this week that the monarch was in good health and that every precaution was being taken.
It is understood the staff member’s duties included walking the Queen’s dogs, corgi-dachshund crosses Candy and Vulcan, and bringing her food – both of which would have brought the pair into close proximity. It is not known, however, when they fell sick.
Prince Charles, who last saw his mother on March 25, tested positive but has since recovered. Doctors say the earliest he could have become contagious was the next day.
He came out of self-isolation on Monday in Scotland, while his wife, the Duchess of Cornwall, who tested negative for the virus, will come out by the end of the weekend.
The Prince of Wales offered his own message of hope to the country earlier this week when he recorded a video after coming out of isolation.
Charles said in his words of support: ‘As a nation, we are faced by a profoundly challenging situation, which we are only too aware threatens the livelihoods, businesses and welfare of millions of our fellow citizens.
‘None of us can say when this will end, but end it will. Until it does, let us all try and live with hope and, with faith in ourselves and each other, look forward to better times to come. ‘
The footman was promoted to a role closer to the Queen six months ago and worked in her private apartments at Buckingham Palace.
Yesterday, the Queen thanked Armed Forces personnel working tirelessly to build London’s new NHS Nightingale Hospital at the ExCel convention center.
The monarchy’s Twitter account paid tribute to the military who have been on 15 – hour shifts to transforms the site into a 4, – bed hospital for coronavirus patients.
GIPHY App Key not set. Please check settings