Britain's Queen Elizabeth has delivered a rare special address to encourage the British public to rise to the challenges posed by the coronavirus outbreak.
It is only the fifth time that the 93-year-old monarch has made a special televised broadcast during her reign.
Queen Elizabeth said she was speaking at "an increasingly challenging time" that had brought "grief to some, financial difficulties to many, and enormous changes to the daily lives of us all".
She thanked workers on the NHS (National Health Service) frontline, as well as care workers and those carrying out essential roles, along with people who were staying at home to protect the vulnerable.
"I hope in the years to come everyone will be able to take pride in how they responded to this challenge ...
"Across the Commonwealth and around the world, we have seen heart-warming stories of people coming together to help others.
"Though self-isolating may at times be hard, many people of all faiths, and of none, are discovering that it presents an opportunity to slow down, pause and reflect, in prayer or meditation."
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The British monarch said: "It reminds me of the very first broadcast I made, in 1940, helped by my sister. We, as children, spoke from here at Windsor to children who had been evacuated from their homes and sent away for their own safety.
"Today, once again, many will feel a painful sense of separation from their loved ones. But now, as then, we know, deep down, that it is the right thing to do.
"While we have faced challenges before, this one is different. This time we join with all nations across the globe in a common endeavour, using the great advances of science and our instinctive compassion to heal.
"We will succeed - and that success will belong to every one of us.
"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."
Her speech came as the UK's death toll from the virus rose to 4,934, an increase of 621 since yesterday and as the country prepared for a third week of lockdown.
Queen Elizabeth and her 98 year-old husband Prince Philip moved to Windsor Castle on 19 March as a precaution because of their age, which puts them in a high-risk category.
Royal officials have said the couple were in good health and following government guidelines.
Her eldest son and heir Prince Charles, 71, has been in self-isolation on her Balmoral estate in northeast Scotland after developing mild symptoms of Covid-19.
As a precaution, he officially opened by videolink a new 4,000-bed field hospital in east London on Thursday which will treat the most seriously ill patients.
The royal family has cut its engagements, and Sunday's speech was recorded by a single camera operator wearing personal protective equipment, royal officials said.
The queen's intervention is her first at troubled times since the death of her mother in 2002.
Before that, she addressed the nation on the eve of Diana, princess of Wales' funeral in 1997.
She also broadcast a message in 1991 during the first Gulf War.
A fourth message in 2012 was to thank the British public after celebrations for her Diamond Jubilee, marking the 60th anniversary of her accession to the British throne.
