Queen Elizabeth II has awarded the U.K.’s highest civilian award for gallantry to the National Health Service, offering a handwritten message of thanks to the public organization and its workers on its 73rd anniversary.
In a message written on Windsor Castle stationery, the monarch said it gave her great pleasure to give the award from a grateful nation.
NHS staff have been lauded throughout the COVID-19 pandemic for working tirelessly to save lives and vaccinate the public amid an outbreak that has killed more than 128,000 people, the most in Europe.
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