Queen Elizabeth has sent her "enduring appreciation and good wishes" to healthcare workers around the world

She said: "I want to thank all those working in the healthcare profession for your selfless commitment and diligence as you undertake vitally important roles to protect and improve the health and well-being of people."

The Queen admitted to taking particular inspiration from the "dedication" of healthcare workers amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Her statement read: "In testing times, we often observe that the best of the human spirit comes to the fore; the dedication to service of countless nurses, midwives and other health workers, in these most challenging of circumstances, is an example to us all.

"My family and I send our enduring appreciation and good wishes."

The statement was released shortly after the Queen issued a rallying call amid the current health crisis.

Speaking from Windsor Castle, the monarch reflected: "While we have faced challenges before, this one is different. This time we join with all nations across the globe in a common endeavour, using the great advances of science and our instinctive compassion to heal.

"We will succeed - and that success will belong to every one of us. We should take comfort that while we may have more still to endure, better days will return: we will be with our friends again; we will be with our families again; we will meet again."

The Queen also hopes that one day, Britons will be able to take pride in their response to the situation.

She said: "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.

"That the attributes of self-discipline, of quiet good-humoured resolve and of fellow-feeling still characterise this country."