A smiling Queen stood without her walking stick as she presented the NHS with a prestigious award today and hailed the Covid vaccine rollout.
Her Majesty personally presented the George Cross to the NHS during a ceremony in Windsor Castle's white drawing room.
Accompanied by Prince Charles, she welcomed the chief executives of the National Health Services of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and a frontline worker from each of the home nations.
Buckingham Palace said the monarch, who has ongoing mobility problems, had been planning to attend the audience, but that a final decision was made on the day.
Among those attending the event hosted by the 96-year-old head of state was May Parsons, the nurse who delivered the world’s first Covid-19 vaccine outside of clinical trials to Maggie Keenan on December 8, 2020.
Other guests included NHS England chief executive Amanda Pritchard and her counterparts from NHS Scotland and NHS Wales – Caroline Lamb and Judith Paget respectively – and Peter May, permanent secretary at the Department of Health and chief executive of Health and Social Care Northern Ireland.
The Queen, who wore a day dress, was on fine form and when told about the nurse’s historic first, she made her guests laugh with the quip: “You’re still alive?”
When the nurse told the Queen: “We’re terribly, terribly proud of the vaccination roll-out, it was so successful,” she replied: “Yes it was amazing.”
And when NHS England chief executive Amanda Pritchard highlighted the tens of millions who have been jabbed, the monarch said “tremendous”.
When the Queen asked: “And what are you going to do with it?” with regards to the medal, she was told by NHS England chief executive Amanda Pritchard it would go on tour of the NHS before being found a permanent home.
Each health executive from the four nations and their frontline colleague came up in turn to receive a George Cross which had been placed on a cushion carried by the Queen’s Equerry Lieutenant Colonel Tom White.
The Queen touched the cushion in a gesture to symbolise its presentation.
The monarch awarded the NHS the prestigious bravery award a year ago for its “courage, compassion and dedication” during the pandemic and throughout the 70-plus years since its foundation.
The George Cross was instituted by her father George VI in September 1940 during the height of the Blitz.
It is granted in recognition of “acts of the greatest heroism or of the most courage in circumstances of extreme danger” and recognises actions by civilians and military personnel not in the face of the enemy.
The award of the George Cross by the Queen is made on the advice of the George Cross Committee and the Prime Minister, and this marks only the third occasion on which it has been awarded to a collective body, country or organisation, rather than an individual.
In her message, on Windsor Castle-headed paper last July on the 73rd anniversary of the NHS’s foundation, the Queen wrote : “It is with great pleasure, on behalf of a grateful nation, that I award the George Cross to the National Health Services of the United Kingdom.
“This award recognises all NHS staff, past and present, across all disciplines and all four nations.
“Over more than seven decades, and especially in recent times, you have supported the people of our country with courage, compassion and dedication, demonstrating the highest standards of public service.
“You have our enduring thanks and heartfelt appreciation.”
NHS England chief executive Amanda Pritchard said she was honoured to attend on behalf of NHS workers.
“Under the most difficult of circumstances during the pandemic, our staff responded magnificently,” she said.
They cared for more than 750,000 people with Covid-19 in hospitals and many more in the community, and designed and delivered the biggest and most successful NHS vaccination programme in history, saving hundreds of thousands of lives, she added.
In 1942, the George Cross was conferred on Malta by George VI, in recognition of the fortitude displayed by the island’s inhabitants during enemy bombardments in the Second World War.
And in 1999, the Queen awarded the George Cross to the Royal Ulster Constabulary in Northern Ireland, in recognition of the force’s bravery, including the families of those serving
The most recent recipient of the George Cross is Dominic Troulan, a retired British Army officer and former Royal Marine.
Mr Troulan was awarded the George Cross in June 2017 for his actions during the 2013 Westgate shopping centre attack in Nairobi, Kenya.
