Queen Elizabeth gave a televised speech in order to encourage the citizens of the United Kingdom. 

The Express UK reports that Buckingham Palace says the speech was prerecorded last Thursday, but it was televised on Sunday at 8 pm. The Queen begins her speech by saying that she is speaking to the people during an increasingly challenging time, a time that has brought not just disruption but grief and financial difficulty to a lot of people all over the country. 

She reminisces the things how the things that are happening now have reminded her of the first radio broadcast she did in 1940 during World War II. It is rare for the Queen to make a televised speech. Her regular speeches usually come during Christmas Day. And according to Variety, in her 68 year reign as the queen, this has been just the fifth time to have given a speech, with her last one during June 2012 during her Diamond Jubilee. The other instances were during the Queen Mother's funeral, Princess Diana's funeral and during the Gulf War.

Her speech hopes to invoke hope."This time we join with all nations across the globe in a common endeavor, using the great advances of science and our instinctive compassion to heal...better days will return: we will be with our friends again; we will be with our families again; we will meet again."

She also made sure to give her thanks to all the people working in the NHS frontline and the careworkers. 

She is not the only royal to have thanked the health practitioners who are fighting the pandemic. Prince William and Kate Middleton visited an ambulance service before they went on quarantine. And just last week, they called a few hospitals to personally thank the doctors, nurses, etc for their tireless work as the whole world faces this medical crisis. 

The royal family has not been exempted from the virus. Two weeks ago, Prince Charles announced that he had COVID-19. He has since finished his self-isolation but would still be doing his duties virtually. 

No other member of the royal family has been infected, although the mother and father-in-law of Princess Eugenie were diagnosed with the virus too, with one of them in the ICU in a serious but stable condition. 

The British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, has also been diagnosed with the coronavirus and has now been admitted to the hospital for tests.