The Queen has been a reassuring presence for many during the past 12 months as the country has endured the pandemic and come to terms with life under lockdown.

In her personal life, she has witnessed the Duke and Duchess of Sussex step down as senior royals and move to America to start a new life.

But in televised addresses to the nation in April and at Christmas, the Queen delivered positive messages of hope, praising the efforts of individuals and calling on the nation to “remain united and resolute” in the face of the coronavirus outbreak.

The fallout from Harry and Meghan’s decision in January 2020 to step down as senior royals for a life of financial freedom was still being felt by February 6 that year – the anniversary of the Queen’s accession to the throne.

The Queen had taken personal control of the crisis that had threatened to permanently damage the monarchy.

At the conclusion of negotiations between senior royals and the Sussexes, she issued an emotional statement, and expressed the royal family’s hopes the agreement would allow the couple “to start building a happy and peaceful new life”.

Her words featured a rare personal tribute to the couple, with the Queen using the first names of her grandson and his family in the public message.

Harry and Meghan’s last public engagement with the Queen was in March, when they joined the Prince of Wales, Duchess of Cornwall and Duke and Duchess of Cambridge for Westminster Abbey’s Commonwealth Day service, a few weeks before Boris Johnson announced a national lockdown.

The Queen’s domestic situation changed, with the threat of the virus necessitating that the 94-year-old monarch isolate with the Duke of Edinburgh and a small group from her household – dubbed HMS Bubble.

The couple have spent much of the past 12 months together at Windsor Castle, Balmoral and Sandringham – seeing more of each other than they would in a normal year.

After retiring in 2017, Philip reportedly divided his time between Sandringham and Windsor while the Queen was working from Buckingham Palace.

But commentators have called the change a silver lining for the monarch and her consort. They are living under the same roof as they had done at the start of their marriage when she and Philip were a Royal Navy couple.

The Queen is spending the lockdown with the duke at Windsor Castle, rather than her usual winter retreat of Sandringham, and like many people in the country will be removed from friends and family.

Joe Little, managing editor of Majesty magazine, said: “At Sandringham, if she were still there, she would be entertaining. There would be house parties and there would be family coming and going but none of those rules can apply at the moment.

“It must impact on her in the way that it’s impacting on so many others but to a less dramatic extent.”

Some of the Queen’s working life has moved online, with audiences with new ambassadors conducted via video calls, while her weekly audiences with the Prime Minister have become telephone conversations.

And last year, large public events the monarch would have hosted such as investiture ceremonies, garden parties and Buckingham Palace receptions were cancelled or postponed.

One happier moment saw the Queen and Philip pose for a joint photograph to mark the duke’s 99th birthday in June.

And the Queen knighted Captain Sir Tom Moore, who travelled to Windsor Castle with his family to be honoured by the monarch in July for his fundraising efforts.

It was her first face-to-face royal engagement with the public since March that year, albeit with social distancing, and the Queen appeared to warm to Sir Tom, who is from the same wartime generation as the monarch, and his family.

When Sir Tom died at the start of February, the Queen sent a private message of condolence to his family.

A Buckingham Palace spokeswoman said: “Her thoughts, and those of the royal family, are with them, recognising the inspiration he provided for the whole nation and others across the world.”

As the country begins another year likely to be dominated by coronavirus and its aftermath, the Queen’s words, spoken during her Christmas Day message, still have a strong relevance.

She said: “We continue to be inspired by the kindness of strangers and draw comfort that – even on the darkest nights – there is hope in the new dawn.”