‘Our streets are not empty, they are filled with the love and care we have for each other’
THE QUEEN’S WORDS OF REMEMBRANCE, HOPE AND COMFORT UNITE ALL GENERATIONS ON 75TH ANNIVERSARY OF VE DAY
Her Majesty, Friday May 8th 2020
IN a deeply moving speech to the nation, the Queen last night paid tribute to the “never give up, never despair” conviction of the British people that secured victory in Europe 75 years ago.
Reflecting on the battle against coronavirus, Her Majesty said the wartime generation would “recognise and admire” the support and protection we are giving each other today.
THE Queen insisted: “Our streets are not empty, they are filled with love” as she likened the nation’s lockdown spirit with that of the war generation in her VE Day 75th anniversary address.
The monarch praised our fortitude in a historic televised speech from Windsor Castle to honour the sacrifice of those who fought Nazi Germany.
She said: “Never give up, never despair. That was the message of VE Day.
“Today it may seem hard that we cannot mark this special anniversary as we would wish. Instead we remember from our homes and our doorsteps.
“But our streets are not empty, they are filled with the love and the care that we have for each other.
“And when I look at our country today, and see what we are willing to do to protect and support one another, I say with pride that we are still a nation those brave soldiers, sailors and airmen would recognise and admire.”
The Queen, 94, remains the only living head of state to have served in the Second World War.
She spoke to the country last night at 9pm, echoing the time her father King George VI gave a radio address to mark the end of the war in Europe in 1945.
Her TV address was accompanied by archive footage of the late King making his victory speech and crowds celebrating outside Buckingham Palace and elsewhere on May 8.
She said: “His message then was a salute to the men and women at home and abroad who had sacrificed so much in pursuit of what he rightly called a ‘great deliverance’.
“I vividly remember the jubilant scenes my sister and I witnessed with our parents and Winston Churchill from the balcony of Buckingham Palace. The sense of joy in the crowds who gathered outside and across the country was profound.”
Unforgettable
On that unforgettable day in 1945, the King and Queen made eight appearances on the Buckingham Palace balcony to greet a cheering crowd of about one million people.
The 19-year-old Princess Elizabeth and her 14-year-old sister Princess Margaret enjoyed the celebrations with them.
The Queen’s TV speech was filmed by a single camera operator wearing personal protective equipment to ensure the monarch’s safety.
She recorded the address in the White Drawing Room at the castle, surrounded by mementos.
Her Majesty, in a duck egg blue dress, wore a pair of Boucheron
aquamarine and diamond clip brooches that were a present from her father on her 18th birthday in 1944.
Her cap from when she served in the wartime Auxiliary Territorial Service sat on a table beside her, along with a photograph of her father in his uniform. He was pictured in his uniform of Admiral of the Fleet with RAFWings.
There was also a picture of the Royal Family on the balcony on VE Day with Winston Churchill, and a photograph of the Queen in her ATS uniform. During her time with the ATS, the Queen trained as a driver and mechanic, learning to maintain and fix vehicles.
Her words last night came at the end of a day of Victory in Europe commemorations drastically scaled back because of the current lockdown restrictions.
Earlier, the UK fell silent as Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall led the nation’s two-minute silence and the the RAF staged flypasts
In spite of the ban on social gatherings, Britons still hung out bunting, cooked 1940s recipes and held virtual street parties via video.
The spirit of togtherness culminated in a nationwide singalong of Dame Vera Lynn’s anthem We’ll Meet Again on the nation’s doorsteps.
Finally, Royal Navy ships sounded their sirens and filled the darkness with their searchlights, capping a day of heightened emotion.