Queen Elizabeth II leaves Buckingham Palace, London, for Windsor Castle to socially distance herself amid the coronavirus pandemic. Photo / Getty Images
Queen Elizabeth II leaves Buckingham Palace, London, for Windsor Castle to socially distance herself amid the coronavirus pandemic. Photo / Getty Images
The Queen is to begin using video calls to keep in touch with her family during the coronavirus crisis, as Buckingham Palace works with the British government on plans to provide "calm reassurance" to the nation.
Like grandmothers and great-grandmothers across the country, the Queen is to be given a crash course in how to make and receive video calls, so she can speak to members of family who are unable to see her in person.
Aides are investigating how best to set up video conferencing at the castle next week, bringing in equipment to facilitate family conversations across the generations.
She is expected to be in the same conditions - along with the rest of Britain - for her 94th birthday on April 21.
The Queen will likely keep in touch with her grandchildren and her great-grandchildren via video chat. Photo / Getty Images
The Queen is understood to be keen to endure the coronavirus contingencies measures along with the rest of her generation, setting an example just as the Royal Family have tried to do through other national crises.
"Like many of the population, this is one of the ways she will try and keep in touch with her family and friends," said a royal source.
Aides are currently working out how best to make it happen, with tools similar to FaceTime or Skype but with the additional security measures required for members of the Royal Family.
The technology would allow the Queen to see her great-grandchildren, with Prince George and Princess Charlotte now home from school with Prince Louis, while Archie-Mountbatten-Windsor is likely to spend his first birthday in Canada.
The Royal Family's senior advisors have been working with the government to time their public involvement in the campaign to combat Covid-19, to emphasise rather than distract from the key messages from the experts.
Buckingham Palace and Boris Johnson's advisers are understood to have agreed that the Queen will deliver a televised address during the pandemic, in a bid to "lift the nation's morale" at a key point chosen by the monarch.
A No 10 source said: "There is no one more experienced than Her Majesty The Queen and she will know exactly the right moment to address the country.
"Sadly, there are some very difficult times ahead. The country is going to be hurting. The voice of HMQ will provide calm reassurance that, ultimately, we will get through this."
The last televised address by the monarch other than her annual Christmas messages was after the death of the Queen Mother in 2002.
On Thursday, the Cambridges - as the most senior members of the family below the age bracket for social distancing - visited an NHS 111 call centre in Croydon to thank staff for "working around the clock" to save lives.
