Queen Elizabeth Appeared On Television To Address The Covid-19 Situation

You know, I wasn’t expecting to return from my two-and-a-half month hiatus by looking straight into the no-nonsense eyes of Queen Elizabeth delivering an emergency broadcast address to the world, but here we are. An appearance by Serious TV Liz is somewhat unusual. But so is our current situation of hiding indoors due to coronavirus. So she decided to grab her best brooch and address the nation.

93-year-old Queen Elizabeth delivers a televised Christmas address every single year, even if it was the kind of year that would make a royal wish they could skip. People magazine points out that unless Santa is sliding his robust ass down the chimney, The Queen doesn’t really do TV. The Queen ascended to the throne after WW2, so her father George VI covered those. She addressed the nation in 1991, when she spoke about the Gulf War, which was followed by a televised address regarding the death of Princess Diana, the Queen Mother, and her own Diamond Jubilee. That last one was in 2012, so it’s been a whole 8 years since The Queen has felt it necessary for an important TV broadcast appearance.

Yesterday, The Queen released an address that had been filmed in the drawing room of Windsor Castle. The Queen and Prince Philip have been holed-up at Windsor Castle since mid-March. Only The Queen and a camera person were present for the recording, and said camera operator was wearing gloves and a mask. The Queen meanwhile was wearing the same color as that virus emoji we’ve been seeing so much of, which might have been a fashion choice Prince Charles might have steered her away from. You know, since he’s already out of quarantine.

Here’s The Queen’s four-and-a-half minute long address.

Her Majesty The Queen addresses the UK and the Commonwealth in a special broadcast recorded at Windsor Castle. pic.twitter.com/HjO1uiV1Tm

— The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) April 5, 2020

And here’s a little summary on her message. Basically: shit sucks! But, you know – in fancy royal speak. She also thanked the National Health Service and care workers who are fighting on the front lines, acknowledged those who have died, and thanked everyone who was choosing to stay home.

“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.”

“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 you all.”

It’s not known if Prince William will also prepare a statement of his own, but I assume it will be shot against a brick wall and open with, “What’s the deal with COVID-19?”

The Queen’s message was a good reminder that everyone should be taking this situation very seriously. Because as we’ve seen, The Queen doesn’t just appear on television for any old reason (besides Christmas). Things have to escalate to the absolute top level of EMERGENCY. And we know this because The Queen never summoned a camera crew to channel her best “Sinead on SNL” and tear up a picture of Harry and Meghan live on television.

Pic: The Royal Family