Queen Elizabeth shared an Easter message Saturday ahead of the Christian holiday, wishing everyone a “blessed” day amid the coronavirus pandemic.
In a two-minute video shared to Instagram of an illuminated candle, the queen can be heard discussing the role of candles in many world religions and bringing people together, such as when they are lit on birthday cakes and “during family anniversaries.”
“When we gather happily around a source of light. It unites us,” the queen says.
“As darkness falls on the Saturday before Easter Day, many Christians would normally light candles together. In church, one light would pass to another, spreading slowly, and then more rapidly as more candles are lit. It’s a way of showing how the good news of Christ’s resurrection has been passed on from the first Easter by every generation until now,” she continued.
But Queen Elizabeth said that people around the world can look to “light and life” amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, which has barred Christians around the world from gathering for Easter and killed over 100,000 people.
“This year, Easter will be different for many of us, but by keeping apart we keep others safe. But Easter isn’t cancelled; indeed, we need Easter as much as ever. The discovery of the risen Christ on the first Easter Day gave his followers new hope and fresh purpose, and we can all take heart from this,” the queen said.
“We know that coronavirus will not overcome us. As dark as death can be – particularly for those suffering with grief, light and life are greater. May the living flame of the Easter hope be a steady guide as we face the future,” she added.
Queen Elizabeth gave a rare televised address last weekend about the coronavirus pandemic. She has only appeared on television to address the United Kingdom a handful of times in recent decades.
“I am speaking to you at what I know is an increasingly challenging time,” said the queen from Windsor Castle. “A time of disruption in the life of our country, a disruption that has brought grief to some, financial difficulties to many and enormous changes to the daily lives of us all … I hope in the years to come, everyone will be able to take pride in how they responded to this challenge. And those who come after us will say that the Britons of this generation were as strong as any.”
Prince Charles, the queen’s son announced last month that he tested positive for the coronavirus, but he has since said that he is in good health and out of self-isolation in Scotland.