Queen Elizabeth Speaks of “Selfless Dedication to Duty” in Commonwealth Day Message

Queen Elizabeth II has stressed how important it is to stay in touch with family and friends during testing times and praised the “selfless dedication to duty” seen across the Commonwealth.

Commonwealth Day is an annual celebration observed by people all over the Commonwealth in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean and Americas, the Pacific and Europe.

This year’s Commonwealth Day will be celebrated on Monday 8 March 2021 as usual, but no gatherings are scheduled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It also coincides with International Women’s Day.

As part of the Day’s events, senior royals including the Prince of Wales and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge appeared together today on the BBC One show to mark Commonwealth Day.

“The testing times experienced by so many have led to a deeper appreciation of the mutual support and spiritual sustenance we enjoy by being connected to others,” The Queen said on the programme.

“Whilst experiences of the last year have been different across the Commonwealth,” said the Queen, “stirring examples of courage, commitment, and selfless dedication to duty have been demonstrated in every Commonwealth nation and territory, notably by those working on the frontline, who have been delivering health care and other public services in their communities.”

This year Commonwealth Day will be centred around the same theme as last year, which is also the theme for the forthcoming 2021 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) due in Kigali Rwanda, at end of June.

The theme – ‘Delivering a Common Future’ – highlights how the 54 member countries in the Commonwealth family are ‘innovating, connecting and transforming’ to help achieve some of its biggest goals, like fighting climate change, promoting good governance and boosting trade.