Queen Elizabeth Recounts Never-Before-Heard Childhood Memories During Historic Speech

Published May 8, 2020

•

5:50pm

Queen Elizabeth just took a rare walk down memory lane during this brand-new speech that aired on BBC.

Today, the 94-year-old monarch addressed the world, just as her father King George VI did three-quarters of a century ago on May 8, 1945. The speech honored the 75th anniversary of VE Day (or Victory in Europe Day), which marks Nazi Germany’s unconditional surrender.

During the broadcast, Queen Elizabeth recalled never-before-heard details from that day. She also encouraged viewers to remember the VE Day message: “Never give up, never despair.”

“I vividly remember the jubilant scenes my sister and I witnessed with our parents and Winston Churchill from the balcony of Buckingham Palace,” the queen said. “The sense of joy in the crowds who gathered outside and across the country was profound, though while we celebrated the victory in Europe, we knew there would be further sacrifice.”

Queen Elizabeth concluded the speech with a friendly reminder during these trying times, saying, “But our streets are not empty. They are filled with the love and the care that we have for each other.”

Other events during the BBC special included a two-minute moment of silence for the fallen soldiers of WWII, and a broadcast of then-Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill’s victory speech in the afternoon.

Like father, like daughter.

Greta Heggeness

Senior Editor

Greta Heggeness is a California-based editor at PureWow and has been writing about entertainment since 2015. She covers everything from awards shows to exclusive celebrity...

read full bio