Britain's Queen Elizabeth will make a rare special address to her country and to the Commonwealth today to urge people to rise to the challenge posed by the coronavirus outbreak.
In extracts of what royal officials said was a "deeply personal" speech, the 93 year-old monarch will say she has faith that people will respond, despite the difficulties.
The broadcast, scheduled to air at 1900 GMT on Sunday, is only the fourth time in her 68-year reign that the queen has made a special televised address outside her annual Christmas Day message.
It comes as daily deaths in the United Kingdom reached a record high yesterday of 708, including a five-year-old child, taking the overall number of fatalities to 4,313 - and as the country prepared for a