The Queen will issue a rallying cry on Sunday emphasising 'togetherness' in a rare address to the nation to boost morale
- In her first televised address on coronavirus, the Queen is expected to say on Sunday: 'We are in this together'
- The speech will mark only the fourth special address of monarch's 68-year reign indicating just how rare it is
- Other times the Queen has made a special address were for the Gulf War and after the Princess Diana's death
- The monarch is likely to praise health workers and those who have been helping in the fight against Covid-19
- Every day since Tuesday has seen a record daily high number of deaths - the Monday to Friday total is 2,377
The Queen will issue a rallying cry to the nation on Sunday in a rare address to the nation to boost morale.
In her first televised address on the coronavirus crisis, she is expected to say: 'We are in this together – and we will all get through it together, too'. It is only the fifth time the 93-year-old monarch has made a broadcast outside of Christmas.
She recorded the message at Windsor Castle, where she is living in isolation with her 98-year-old husband Philip.
The news comes as the UK announced 684 more coronavirus deaths on Friday, taking the total number of fatalities to 3,605.
Yet again the number was a record one-day high - this has been the case almost every day this week, with each day since Tuesday announcing more victims than the last.
On Thursday there were a record 569 new fatalities announced by the Department of Health and today's statistics show a rise 20 per cent larger.
The new figures mean the number of people dead from COVID-19 in the UK has risen five-fold in a week, from just 759 last Friday, March 27.
The numbers behind the UK's crisis have escalated rapidly over the past seven days and Health Secretary Matt Hancock on Friday said the virus 'continues its grim march'. He admitted that next week is likely to be worse still, potentially topping out at more than 1,000 deaths per day by Easter Sunday.
Britain is still being hammered by the consequences of huge numbers of people catching the coronavirus before the country went into total lockdown last week. The increases being seen each day are 'expected', scientists say.
Experts say it could take another couple of weeks before the benefits of social distancing start to show in NHS statistics - but they insist that the outbreak will taper off and the daily numbers will start to fall.
The Queen speaks to Prime Minister Boris Johnson from Windsor Castle on March 25 last week
In other developments in the Covid-19 crisis:
- The daily UK death toll rose again sharply to 684 and is predicted to peak next weekend;
- Two nurses in their 30s fell victim to the virus, each leaving behind three children;
- A grim looking Boris Johnson urged Britons not to leave home to enjoy the expected Easter sunshine;
- He has been forced to extend his self- isolation because of a high temperature;
- Half a million care home residents face becoming 'abandoned victims';
- NHS scientists said the Government's pledge to test 100,000 people a day by May was likely to prove impossible;
- Teachers will grade their own GCSE and A-level pupils after exams were cancelled.
The four other times the Queen has made a special address were for the Gulf War, the death of Princess Diana, the death of the Queen Mother and her diamond jubilee.
Buckingham Palace declined to comment on the content in advance of the broadcast tomorrow night at 8pm, but the Mail understands the Queen will emphasise togetherness, highlighting the nation's cohesion in the face of adversity.
She is also likely to praise health workers and all those who have been helping in the fight against Covid-19.
It comes as Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he is 'feeling better' after suffering from coronavirus but will remain in self-isolation until his temperature drops.
Meanwhile the Department of Health confirmed 684 more people have died in hospital after testing positive for the virus, bringing the total UK deaths to 3,605.
Royal aides have been speaking to Downing Street for a fortnight about Her Majesty giving a morale-boosting television address to the UK amid the pandemic.
Sources had stressed last week the country was at the start of a very long and difficult process and that the timing of the address 'needs to be right'.
As well as on television and radio, The Queen's address this weekend will be shown on the royal social media channels, including @RoyalFamily on Twitter.
The Queen is highly experienced at public speaking and records her Christmas message in just one take, reading her script from a monitor.
But her message during the coronavirus pandemic had the added technical challenge of taking place while the UK is in lockdown.
The Queen has left Buckingham Palace and is staying with the 98-year-old Duke of Edinburgh with a reduced household at Windsor Castle for their safety.
A royal spokesman said: 'Her Majesty The Queen has recorded a special broadcast to the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth in relation to the coronavirus outbreak.
'The televised address will be broadcast at 8pm on Sunday April 5, 2020. The address was recorded at Windsor Castle.'
It will be only the fourth special address of her 68-year reign. Her Majesty gave her last speech in 2002 on the eve of her mother's funeral.
Her previous special addresses to the nation were in 1997 after the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, and 1991, when she spoke about the First Gulf War.
Eighteen years ago on the eve of her mother's funeral, the Queen thanked the country for their support and the 'love and honour' shown to the Queen Mother.
Dressed in black, the Queen added: 'I count myself fortunate that my mother was blessed with a long and happy life. She had an infectious zest for living, and this remained with her until the very end.'
The monarch spoke to the nation in 1997 on the eve of the funeral for Diana, Princess of Wales.
Diana's sudden death in a Paris car crash triggered one of the monarchy's worst crises in modern history.
When the Queen initially remained at Balmoral to comfort her grandsons Princes William and Harry, the newspaper headlines screamed: 'Show us you care' and 'Where is our Queen? and 'Where is her flag?'.
A sea of flowers was left at the gates of Diana's London home, Kensington Palace, by shocked members of the public, but the flag pole at Buckingham Palace remained bare, as was the protocol, because the Queen was away in Scotland.
A rare palace statement was released telling of the royal family's hurt at suggestions they were untouched by the tragedy.
The Queen had been due to pre-record her message, but in an unprecedented move for a royal broadcast of this kind, it was decided she should deliver it live.
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