London: On the occasion of the annual Commonwealth Day, Britain’s Queen Elizabeth will make a televised address to the residents of the United Kingdom on Sunday at 5 pm (10:30 pm IST). As per reports, this year, the annual Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey has been cancelled for the first time in nearly half a century, because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. However, Her Majesty, along with other senior members of the Royal family, will be sharing her annual message in a special hour-long episode on BBC One.
Commonwealth Day is an annual celebration observed by people all over the Commonwealth in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean and Americas, the Pacific and Europe.
As per the Evening Standard, the Queen’s special address will focus on global health crisis and it will pay tribute to the way in which communities across the “family of nations” have “come together.” The special address will be pre-recorded at Windsor Castle and then broadcasted as part of the programme ‘A Celebration for Commonwealth Day,’ on BBC One. This year’s theme is “Delivering a Common Future” – aiming to highlight how the 54 member countries in the Commonwealth family are “innovating, connecting and transforming” to help achieve some of its biggest goals.
During the special hour-long episode, the Queen will be joined by other senior royals, including Prince Charles, Camilla the Duchess of Cornwall, Prince William, and Kate the Duchess of Cambridge.
The Queen’s special TV address will be aired on Sunday night just hours before the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s Oprah Winfrey interview is aired on CBS Network in the US.