The Queen tells the UK “never give up, never despair”
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The Queen on Friday addressed the UK to commemorate the 75th anniversary of VE Day.
The monarch’s pre-recorded message marked the exact moment her father, King George VI, gave a radio address 75 years ago.
She said: “We are still a nation those brave soldiers, sailors and airmen would recognise and admire.”
The Queen gave a poignant address to mark the 75th anniversary of VE Day, praising Britain’s response to the coronavirus epidemic that has filled empty streets with “love”.
In the broadcast, she said: “Today it may seem hard that we cannot mark this special anniversary as we would wish.
“Instead we remember from our homes and from our doorsteps.”
Thanking the wartime generation, the Queen, 94, said: “They risked all so our families and neighbourhoods could be safe.”
“We should and will remember them.”
Victory in Europe (VE) Day marks the day in 1945 when Britain and its allies accepted the unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany, bringing the war in Europe to an end.
In the pre-recorded message from Windsor Castle, her second televised address of the coronavirus pandemic, the Queen described the Second World War as a “total war” where “no one was immune from its impact”.
“At the start, the outlook seemed bleak, the end distant, the outcome uncertain,” she said.
“But we kept faith that the cause was right and this belief, as my father noted in his broadcast, carried us through.
“Never give up, never despair, that was the message of VE Day.”
