Queen Elizabeth II Quotes

Queen Elizabeth II is the longest-reigning monarch in British history. She is also the oldest reigning monarch in the world. Elizabeth was born in 1926, the first child of the Duke and Duchess of York. Her father, Prince Albert, was the second son of King George V. Her mother, Elizabeth, was the eldest daughter of the Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne.

Table of Contents

1. Early Life

2. Accession to the Throne

3. Reign

4. Royal Family

5. Official duties

6. Personal interests

7. Legacy

8. Top Queen Elizabeth II Quotes

Early Life

Elizabeth Alexandra Mary was born at 02:40 on 21 April 1926, during the reign of her paternal grandfather, King George V. Her father, the Duke of York, was the second son of the King. Her mother, the Duchess of York, was the eldest daughter of Scottish aristocrat the Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne.

She was baptised by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Cosmo Lang, in the private chapel of Buckingham Palace on 29 May 1926. Her godparents were:

King George V (her paternal grandfather)

Queen Mary (her paternal grandmother)

Prince Albert, Duke of York (her father)

Princess Mary, Duchess of York (her mother)

Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon (her paternal great-aunt)

Elizabeth was educated privately at home. Her father acceded to the throne on the abdication of his brother, King Edward VIII, in 1936, from which time she was the heir presumptive. She began to undertake public duties during the Second World War, serving in the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force. In 1947, she married Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, a former prince of Greece and Denmark, with whom she has four children: Charles, Prince of Wales, Anne, Princess Royal, Prince Andrew, Duke of York, and Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex.

Accession to the Throne

Elizabeth’s father died on 6 February 1952, and she became queen at the age of 25.

She was proclaimed queen by her privy and executive councils in Canada on 6 February 1952, and in the United Kingdom on 8 February 1952, after the death of her father, King George VI.

Her coronation took place on 2 June 1953, at Westminster Abbey.

Reign

Elizabeth is the 40th monarch in a line that goes back to Egbert, King of Wessex, who was crowned in 802.

She is the second longest-reigning monarch in British history, after Queen Victoria.

During her reign, she has seen 12 British prime ministers come and go, including Sir Winston Churchill, Harold Wilson and Margaret Thatcher.

She has also seen great changes in her country and the Commonwealth, including the decolonization of Africa and the Caribbean, and the rise and fall of the Soviet Union.

Royal Family

Elizabeth is married to Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and they have four children and eight grandchildren.

She is the mother of Charles, Prince of Wales, and the grandmother of Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex.

Official duties

As queen, Elizabeth carries out a variety of official duties on behalf of the UK and Commonwealth countries.

She meets with prime ministers and other officials, and she also undertakes official visits to countries around the world.

Elizabeth is also the head of the Commonwealth, a group of 53 countries that are mostly former British colonies.

Personal interests

Elizabeth is a keen horsewoman and has owned and raced many successful thoroughbreds.

She is also interested in art, and has an extensive art collection at Buckingham Palace.

Legacy

Elizabeth is widely respected both at home and abroad.

She is seen as a symbol of stability in a time of great change, and her long reign has been marked by a number of significant events.

Top Queen Elizabeth II Quotes

“Grief is the price we pay for love.”— Queen Elizabeth II

“When life seems hard, the courageous do not lie down and accept defeat; instead, they are all the more determined to struggle for a better future.”— Queen Elizabeth II

“Good memories are our second chance at happiness.”— Queen Elizabeth II

“Let us not take ourselves too seriously. None of us has a monopoly on wisdom.”— Queen Elizabeth II

“It’s all to do with the training: you can do a lot if you’re properly trained.”— Queen Elizabeth II

“It has turned out to be an annus horribilis.”— Queen Elizabeth II

“For Christians, as for all people of faith, reflection, meditation and prayer help us to renew ourselves in God’s love, as we strive daily to become better people. The Christmas message shows us that this love is for everyone. There is no one beyond its reach.”— Queen Elizabeth II

“The world is not the most pleasant place. Eventually your parents leave you and nobody is going to go out of their way to protect you unconditionally. You need to learn to stand up for yourself and what you believe and sometimes, pardon my language, kick some ass.”— Queen Elizabeth II

“Cowards falter, but danger is often overcome by those who nobly dare.”— Queen Elizabeth II

“We all need to get the balance right between action and reflection. With so many distractions, it is easy to forget to pause and take stock.”— Queen Elizabeth II

“It has been women who have breathed gentleness and care into the hard progress of humankind.”— Queen Elizabeth II

“To what greater inspiration and counsel can we turn than to the imperishable truth to be found in this treasure house, the Bible?”— Queen Elizabeth II

“Work is the rent you pay for the room you occupy on earth.”— Queen Elizabeth II

“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.”— Queen Elizabeth II

“My husband has quite simply been my strength and stay all these years, and I owe him a debt greater than he would ever claim.”— Queen Elizabeth II

“To all those who have suffered as a consequence of our troubled past I extend my sincere thoughts and deep sympathy. With the benefit of historical hindsight we can all see things which we would wish had been done differently or not at all.”— Queen Elizabeth II

“You got blood on your face, you big disgrace, waving your banner all over the place.”— Queen Elizabeth II

“I know of no single formula for success. But over the years I have observed that some attributes of leadership are universal and are often about finding ways of encouraging people to combine their efforts, their talents, their insights, their enthusiasm and their inspiration to work together.”— Queen Elizabeth II

“For me, heaven is likely to be a bit of a come-down.”— Queen Elizabeth II

“I cannot lead you into battle. I do not give you laws or administer justice but I can do something else – I can give my heart and my devotion to these old islands and to all the peoples of our brotherhood of nations.”— Queen Elizabeth II

“I have to be seen to be believed.”— Queen Elizabeth II

“Like all the best families, we have our share of eccentricities, of impetuous and wayward youngsters and of family disagreements.”— Queen Elizabeth II

“This thing called love, it cries like a baby in a cradle all night. It swings, it jives, it shakes all over like a jelly fish. I kinda like it.”— Queen Elizabeth II

“The British Constitution has always been puzzling and always will be.”— Queen Elizabeth II

“Family does not necessarily mean blood relatives but often a description of a community, organisation or nation.”— Queen Elizabeth II

“The lessons from the peace process are clear; whatever life throws at us, our individual responses will be all the stronger for working together and sharing the load.”— Queen Elizabeth II

“It has perhaps always been the case that the waging of peace is the hardest form of leadership of all.”— Queen Elizabeth II

“There are long periods when life seems a small, dull round, a petty business with no point, and then suddenly we are caught up in some great event which gives us a glimpse of the solid and durable foundations of our existence.”— Queen Elizabeth II

“For many, Christmas is also a time for coming together. But for others, service will come first.”— Queen Elizabeth II

“I should like to be a horse.”— Queen Elizabeth II

“It is as queen of Canada that I am here. Queen of Canada and all Canadians, not just one or two ancestral strains.”— Queen Elizabeth II

“True patriotism doesn’t exclude an understanding of the patriotism of others.”— Queen Elizabeth II

“The upward course of a nation’s history is due in the long run to the soundness of heart of its average men and women.”— Queen Elizabeth II

“We lost the American colonies because we lacked the statesmanship to know the right time and the manner of yielding what is impossible to keep.”— Queen Elizabeth II

“1992 is not a year I shall look back on with undiluted pleasure. In the words of one of my more sympathetic correspondents, it hasturned out to be an Annus Horribilis.”— Queen Elizabeth II

“These wretched babies don’t come until they are ready.”— Queen Elizabeth II

“In remembering the appalling suffering of war on both sides, we recognise how precious is the peace we have built in Europe since 1945.”— Queen Elizabeth II

“It is easy enough to define what the Commonwealth is not. Indeed this is quite a popular pastime.”— Queen Elizabeth II

“We have all felt those emotions in these last few days. So what I say to you now, as your queen and as a grandmother, I say from my heart.”— Queen Elizabeth II

“Therefore I am sure that this, my Coronation, is not the symbol of a power and a splendor that are gone but a declaration of our hopes for the future, and for the years I may, by God’s Grace and Mercy, be given to reign and serve you as your Queen.”— Queen Elizabeth II

“I myself prefer my New Zealand eggs for breakfast.”— Queen Elizabeth II

“Football’s a difficult business and aren’t they prima donnas. But it’s a wonderful game.”— Queen Elizabeth II

“I have behind me not only the splendid traditions and the annals of more than a thousand years but the living strength and majesty of the Commonwealth and Empire; of societies old and new; of lands and races different in history and origins but all, by God’s Will, united in spirit and in aim.”— Queen Elizabeth II

“They are not royal. They just happen to have me as their aunt.”— Queen Elizabeth II

“Families, friends and communities often find a source of courage rising up from within. Indeed, sadly, it seems that it is tragedy that often draws out the most and the best from the human spirit.”— Queen Elizabeth II

“At Christmas, I am always struck by how the spirit of togetherness lies also at the heart of the Christmas story. A young mother and a dutiful father with their baby were joined by poor shepherds and visitors from afar. They came with their gifts to worship the Christ child.”— Queen Elizabeth II

“I hope that tomorrow we can all, wherever we are, join in expressing our grief at Diana’s loss, and gratitude for her all-too-short life. It is a chance to show to the whole world the British nation united in grief and respect.”— Queen Elizabeth II

“What were once only hopes for the future have now come to pass…”— Queen Elizabeth II

“I have been aware all the time that my peoples, spread far and wide throughout every continent and ocean in the world, were united to support me in the task to which I have now been dedicated with such solemnity.”— Queen Elizabeth II

“Madam President, speaking here in Dublin Castle it is impossible to ignore the weight of history, as it was yesterday when you and I laid wreaths at the Garden of Remembrance.”— Queen Elizabeth II

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