The first British astronaut in the International Space Station, Tim Peake, has recorded a special message from space for Her Majesty the Queen.
The message was in reply to the well-wishes Queen Elizabeth had sent Major Peake when he embarked on his mission last month.
The pre-recorded message thanked the Queen saying he was both “honoured” and “humbled” by her outreach in the minute-long video. He added that he hopes that his journey would act as a symbol of “international collaboration” and help make the world a better place.
The effects of no gravity were evident as Major Peake floated around with a microphone in front of the camera saying:
“I’m truly honoured to receive Your Majesty’s message, inspired by its wording, and humbled to be able to represent the UK and Europe on board the ISS. I can tell you it’s incredible to be able to look at the British Isles for the first time from space.
“Our islands and our nation are a special place to me and I hope the next six months will demonstrate to everyone across the UK and Europe how international collaboration and brave endeavour can change our world for the better.
“So thank you again for your well wishes, ma’am. I hope I can bring the country together to celebrate Britain in space and our great tradition of scientific exploration.
“And before I sign off, I’m not sure that this has ever been said in space before, so I’ll be the first: God save the Queen.”
His signed off with “God save the Queen” as Major Peake believes this was the first time the phrase has been said from space.
The message Queen Elizabeth sent to Major Peake in December right after his launch said: “Prince Philip and I are pleased to transmit our best wishes to Major Timothy Peake as he joins the International Space Station in orbit.
“We hope that Major Peake’s work on the Space Station will serve as an inspiration to a new generation of scientists and engineers.”
