Elizabeth II
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Queen Elizabeth II (born April 21, 1926) is Queen of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, The Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and Grenadines, Belize, Antigua and Barbuda, and Saint Kitts and Nevis. She is head of the Commonwealth and Supreme Governor of the Church of England.
Quotes
- I declare before you all that my whole life whether it be long or short shall be devoted to your service and the service of our great imperial family to which we all belong.
- On her 21st birthday; quoted on royal website (21 April 1947)
- My Husband and I....
- Thought by many to be her catchphrase, but she does not use it much at present. [1]
- It has always been easy to hate and destroy. To build and to cherish is much more difficult.
- 1957 Christmas Broadcast; quoted on royal website (25 December 1957)
- Today we need a special kind of courage. Not the kind needed in battle, but a kind which makes us stand up for everything that we know is right, everything that is true and honest. We need the kind of courage that can withstand the subtle corruption of the cynics, so that we can show the world that we are not afraid of the future.
- 1957 Christmas Broadcast; quoted on royal website (25 December 1957)
- On behalf of the British people I salute the skill and courage which have brought man to the moon. May this endeavour increase the knowledge and well-being of mankind.
- Message left on the moon by the crew of Apollo 11; NASA documentation (13 July 1969)
- 1992 is not a year on which I shall look back with undiluted pleasure. In the words of one of my more sympathetic correspondents, it has turned out to be an 'Annus Horribilis'.
- After a fire at Windsor Castle and several personal scandals in the royal family. Annus horribilis is Latin for "horrible year"; the letter to which the Queen was referring was sent by Sir Edward Ford.
- Speech at the Guildhall, London, to mark the 40th anniversary of her Accession (24 November 1992)
- Although we must leave you,
Fair Castle of Mey,
We shall never forget,
Nor will never repay,
A meal of such splendour,
Repast of such zest,
It will take us to Sunday,
Just to digest.
To leafy Balmoral,
We are now on our way,
But our hearts will remain
At the Castle of Mey.
With your gardens and ranges,
And all your good cheer,
We will be back again soon
So roll on next year.- Ode to the Castle of Mey, recorded in the visitors' book at the Castle of Mey, in Caithness, during a visit to the Queen Mother, 1993. [2]
- We are a moderate, pragmatic people, more comfortable with practice than theory.
- Speech in reply to Addresses from both Houses of Parliament in Westminster Hall in the year of Her Golden Jubilee (30 April 2002)
- But nothing that can be said can begin to take away the anguish and the pain of these moments. Grief is the price we pay for love.
- Message from the Queen, read by the British ambassador to Washington, Sir Christopher Meyer, St Thomas's Episcopal Church on Fifth Avenue. 22 September 2001. [3]
- Oh, dear, I hope it wasn't anyone important.
- Said to Clare Short after Short's phone rang in her handbag during a Privy Council meeting; quoted in Donald Macintyre, "The Queen is on a roll because she understands her role (unlike her son)," The Independent (2 May 2002)
- Discrimination still exists. Some people feel that their own beliefs are being threatened. Some are unhappy about unfamiliar cultures. They all need to be reassured that there is so much to be gained by reaching out to others; that diversity is indeed a strength and not a threat.
- Football's a difficult business and aren't they prima donnas?
- The Queen gives her opinion to Premier League chairman Sir David Richards, as quoted in BBC News (2 January 2007) [4]
- In tomorrow's world we must all work together as hard as ever, if we're truly to be United Nations
- The Queen urging nations to work together at her second address of the United Nations [5]
- A Uachtaráin agus a chairde
- Translation: Madam President and friends.
- State banquet in Ireland, 18/5/2011
- The right to change the government by the ballot box and not the barrel of a gun; perhaps the best definition of a democracy.
- During a speech to President Gerald Ford celebrating the 200th anniversary of American independence.[6]
- The concept of our established Church is occasionally misunderstood and, I believe, commonly under-appreciated. Its role is not to defend Anglicanism to the exclusion of other religions. Instead, the Church has a duty to protect the free practice of all faiths in this country.
- During a speech at Lambeth Palace, 15/02/2012. Quoted on royal website
- Our religions provide critical guidance for the way we live our lives, and for the way in which we treat each other.
- During a speech at Lambeth Palace, 15/02/2012. Quoted on royal website
- Our peace and prosperity can never be taken for granted and must constantly be tended, so that never again do we have cause to build monuments to our fallen youth.
- Speech during the commemorations of D-Day, 06/06/2014. [7]
- The true measure of all our actions is how long the good in them lasts...everything we do, we do for the young.
- Speech during the commemorations of D-Day, 06/06/2014. [8]
- I hope in the years to come everyone will be able to take pride in how they responded to this challenge. And those who come after us will say the Britons of this generation were as strong as any. That the attributes of self-discipline, of quiet good-humoured resolve and of fellow-feeling still characterise this country. The pride in who we are is not a part of our past, it defines our present and our future.
- Address to the UK and Commonwealth during the 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic, 05/04/2020 [9].
- Today it may seem hard that we cannot mark this special anniversary as we would wish. Instead we remember from our homes and our doorsteps. But our streets are not empty; they are filled with the love and the care that we have for each other. And when I look at our country today, and see what we are willing to do to protect and support one another, I say with pride that we are still a nation those brave soldiers, sailors and airmen would recognise and admire.
- Address to the UK on the 75th anniversary of VE Day, which occurred during the 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic, 08/05/2020 [10].
Quotes about Elizabeth II
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- Your Majesty, during Your Reign, which commenced in an African country only a little distance to the South, You have carried forward gloriously the traditions of Your lineage and brought new honour to the Throne which You occupy. Your Majesty personally enjoys today the respect, the admiration and the affection of all peoples to whom Britain serves as the symbol of indomitability in adversity, of courage when confronted by danger, of dignity and resolve when threatened with defeat, and of magnanimity and generosity in victory.
- Haile Selassie, Visit of Queen Elizabeth II, Monday, February 01, 1965
- So I went to the top lady. And I was sobbing and I said, ‘What do I do? I'm coming to you. What do I do?’... And she said, ‘I don't know what you should do. Charles is hopeless.’ And that was it. That was help! So I didn't go back to her again for help because I don't go back again if I don't get it the first time, right.
- Diana, Princess of Wales to voice coach Peter Settelen in 1992, as quoted in Tapes reveal more from Princess Diana: NBC News exclusive: Inside the life of the late icon, NBC News, November 30, 2004
- Wouldn't let that family near me with a sharp stick, let alone a sword
- Keith Richards, on knighthood and the royal family as quoted in BBC News (12 March 2007)[11]
- The British monarchy doesn't depend entirely on glamour, as the long, long reign of Queen Elizabeth II continues to demonstrate. Her unflinching dutifulness and reliability have conferred something beyond charm upon the institution, associating it with stoicism and a certain integrity. Republicanism is infinitely more widespread than it was when she was first crowned, but it's very rare indeed to hear the Sovereign Lady herself being criticized, and even most anti-royalists hasten to express themselves admiringly where she is concerned. I am not sure how deserved this immunity really is. The queen took two major decisions quite early in her reign, neither of which was forced upon her. She refused to allow her younger sister Margaret to marry the man she loved and had chosen, and she let her authoritarian husband have charge of the education of her eldest son. The first decision was taken to appease the most conservative leaders of the Church of England (a church of which she is, absurdly, the head), who could not approve the marriage of Margaret to a divorced man. The second was taken for reasons less clear.
- Christopher Hitchens, Beware the In-Laws: Does Kate Middleton really want to marry into a family like this?, Slate, April. 18, 2011
- We, her people of Gibraltar, are perhaps the only ones in her reign who have chosen to remain British on two occasions... We’ve chosen her twice... So we can proudly say that she is our Queen by invitation and not imposition.
- Chief Minister of Gibraltar Fabian Picardo in a speech to crowds in Casemates Square on Gibraltar National Day 2013.
- "Gibraltar: Elizabeth “our Queen by invitation and not by imposition; twice voted”". MercoPress. 12 September 2015. Retrieved on 20 October 2015.
External links
Encyclopedic article on Elizabeth II on Wikipedia
Works related to Author:Elizabeth II on Wikisource
Media related to Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom on Wikimedia Commons