London, United Kingdom: Britain Queen Elizabeth II thanked healthcare workers on the frontline of the fight against the Covid- 19 outbreak on Sunday. She promised that a united effort would help defeat the disease. In a rare special televised address, the 93-year-old monarch drew on her experience in World War II, offering a message of hope to people forced to separate from family and friends.

The broadcast to Britain and Commonwealth nations came as billions of people across the world are forced to stay at home to stop close-contact transmission of the virus. Britain currently has 47,806 confirmed hospital cases and 4,934 deaths. Her own son, heir to the throne Prince Charles, and Prime Minister Boris Johnson have both contracted the virus. She said the outbreak would be defeated through a collective effort in a “common endeavour”, including through scientific cooperation. The queen warned the situation could persist. “We will succeed — and that success will belong to every one of us,” she added.

The message – only her fourth in a time of crisis in her 68-year reign – was recorded at Windsor, with a single camera operator wearing protective clothing as a precaution. She personally thanked frontline staff in Britain’s state-run National Health Service (NHS), care workers and other key workers for “selflessly” carrying out essential roles. She also paid tribute to everyone forced to stay at home to reduce the burden on the NHS, and to protect the elderly and vulnerable most at risk from the disease. Members of the public were also seen clapping in appreciation from their homes for frontline staff.

People in Britain and around the world could feel proud of their community response to the outbreak, the Queen said. The queen drew on her experience during World War II, and recalled her first broadcast in 1940 with her sister Princess Margaret, addressed to children evacuated from their families. The sisters were sent to Windsor for safety as London was bombed. She referenced British wartime singer Vera Lynn, whose song “We’ll Meet Again” became an anthem for service personnel fighting abroad, far from their loved ones. “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.”