No. 1: The Queen's coronavirus speech
It's very rare that the Queen makes addresses to the Commonwealth. She's done so just four times: In 1991, when she spoke about the United Kingdom's involvement in the Gulf War; in 1997, after the death of Princess Diana; in 2002, after the death of the Queen Mother; and in 2012, as part of her Diamond Jubilee celebrations.
But COVID-19 is an extraordinary event, and it called for such an address.
On April 5, the Queen was beamed to television sets across the Commonwealth as she called on all of us to be "united and resolute" to defeat the novel coronavirus.
Calling this an "increasingly challenging time," she thanked front-line health care workers in the United Kingdom and abroad for their work in fighting the novel coronavirus, along with those who are still continuing to work in essential roles. She also expressed gratitude to those who remain at home, doing their best to safeguard those most vulnerable to the virus.
"Across the Commonwealth and around the world, we have seen heart-warming stories of people coming together to help others, be it through delivering food parcels and medicines, checking on neighbours, or converting businesses to help the relief effort," she said. "And though self-isolating may at times be hard, many people of all faiths, and of none, are discovering that it presents an opportunity to slow down, pause and reflect, in prayer or meditation."
Comparing the challenge to the Second World War, she said we will succeed in beating the virus by using science and compassion.
The Queen's address was a welcome gesture of compassion, hope and kindness that came as the world passed the grim milestone of more than 1 million coronavirus infections. As of the date of her speech's airing, that number had risen to more than 1,200,000, according to the Johns Hopkins University of Medicine.
Since then, as we know, many more people become infected and millions more have died. The illness has sickened nearly 83 million people worldwide, though nearly 47 million people have recovered. Worldwide, more than 1.8 million people have died of COVID-19 since the World Health Organization declared it a pandemic in March.
We're thankful we have the Queen to turn to during this difficult time. Her wisdom and experience as a leader are beacons of hope and light during the pandemic, and will continue to be as we hopefully move towards its end.
Photo: © Getty Images
