The Queen has stressed the importance of maintaining the coronavirus lockdown during the Easter Bank Holiday weekend, saying “by keeping apart we keep others safe”.

With the Covid-19 outbreak making church services impossible, the Queen has delivered what is believed to be her first Easter address, which had the resolute message: “We know that coronavirus will not overcome us.”

The pre-recorded speech offered support to those marking Easter privately and the wider country, and she said: “But Easter isn’t cancelled; indeed, we need Easter as much as ever.”