Queen Elizabeth’s Coronavirus Address Was for the British—But It Felt Like It Was for All of Us
On Sunday, Queen Elizabeth broadcast a speech from Windsor Castle, addressing the COVID-19 pandemic. She urged unity and resolution, self-discipline and humor, faith and hope. A whopping 24 million people in the United Kingdom watched it on television. On Twitter, the speech has almost 5 million additional views. On Instagram, it has more than 2.5 million—and on YouTube, several uploaded versions have close to or more than one million views.
On social media, the praise was unanimous from politicians, journalists, celebrities, and ordinary citizens alike. (A star-heavy sampling: “A beautiful speech,” tweeted Mia Farrow. “Gratitude to Queen Elizabeth for her compassionate and wise leadership.” Added Billie Jean King: “The queen’s speech was terrific: short, meaningful, and full of gratitude to health care workers and compassion for the sick.”) Even President Donald Trump praised her leadership: “A great and wonderful woman!” he said, retweeting ABC News.
Her rhetoric was calm, powerful, and apolitical. The nonagenarian referenced her own experience during WW II and the Blitz—a time when she, like many children across England, was often separated from her urban-dwelling parents for her safety. A time when so many had no idea when or if life would ever return to normal. So when she spoke her final line—“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”—you knew she believed it.
When history looks back on this address, perhaps they will compare it to Churchill’s “finest hour” speech, also given amid great uncertainty, when the tides had not yet turned for the better. A few hours before her scheduled broadcast, the United Kingdom’s prime minister, Boris Johnson, was hospitalized due to COVID-19. He is now in intensive care.
A few hours later, Trump did a televised address of his own. He called Illinois governor J.B. Pritzker a complainer, and said that he “has not performed well.” He said his administration “inherited a broken system” when it came to tests. He plugged the use of hydroxychloroquine. Afterward, when a CNN reporter asked him about conclusive medical evidence of its efficacy, he responded, “Only CNN would ask that question. Fake news.” There were moments of attempted leadership—“In the days ahead, America will endure the peak of this terrible pandemic. Our warriors in this life-and-death battle are the incredible doctors and nurses and health care workers on the frontline of the fight. We pledge to them our eternal gratitude and everlasting support.” But they were quickly derailed by nonsensical asides, like: “They make all of us very proud. Our country is very proud. We have people—they love our country. The world loves our country, most of it. Probably all of it; they just don’t say it.” As so many of us sat on our couches, isolated, the combativeness and confusion of it only contributed to a great sense of fear.
As the United Kingdom’s head of state, Queen Elizabeth’s speech was in name addressed to her country. But, thanks to the internet and social media, it reached every corner of the world. And at a time when so many of us yearn for truthful leadership that gives us a glimmer of hope just as the night turns the darkest—it was like she was assuaging us all. (“Queen Elizabeth made me cry,” tweeted Rose McGowan. “By comforting us and reminding us that though we may not be her British subjects, we are globally joined in this fight.”)
Perhaps it’s wishful thinking, but maybe she was. “While we have faced challenges before, this one is different. 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,” she said, clearly and calmly, as she stared right into the camera. “We will succeed—and that success will belong to every one of us.”
Originally Appeared on Vogue
