30 Brilliant Queen Elizabeth II Quotes About Life

“Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II“, by Michael Chu, is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain was born Princess Elizabeth Alexandra Mary on April 21, 1926, in London to Prince Albert (Duke of York), and Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon. She’s the longest-reigning monarch in British history when she became queen on February 6, 1952, at the age of 27. She celebrated her 65 years on the throne in February 2017 with her Sapphire Jubilee.

Queen Elizabeth II got married to Philip, Duke of Edinburgh with whom she had children; Prince Charles (heir to the throne), Princess Anne, Prince Andrew, and Prince Edward. As well as the grandmother of Prince William and Prince Harry. Aside from the title ‘Longest-reigning monarch’, she also serves as a symbol of national identity and pride, and became the Head of the Commonwealth.

Queen Elizabeth II Quotes

“I think everybody really will concede that on this, of all days, I should begin my speech with the words ‘My husband and I’.”
QUEEN ELIZABETH II, in Times 21 November 1972

“Long live the difference, but long live the Entente Cordiale.”
QUEEN ELIZABETH II, Speech, Paris, 5 April 2004 in Times 6 April 2004

“As Groucho Marx once said, ‘Anyone can get old—all you have to do is to live long enough.’”
QUEEN ELIZABETH II, Speech at her official 80th birthday lunch, 15 June 2006, in Independent on Sunday 18 June 2006

“Football’s a difficult business and aren’t they prima donnas?”
QUEEN ELIZABETH II, The Queen gives her opinion to Premier League chairman Sir David Richards, as quoted in BBC News (2 January 2007)

“It has always been easy to hate and destroy. To build and to cherish is much more difficult.”

“The right to change the government by the ballot box and not the barrel of a gun; perhaps the best definition of a democracy.”
QUEEN ELIZABETH II, During a speech to President Gerald Ford celebrating the 200th anniversary of American independence.

“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, Speech at a state dinner in Dublin Castle, 18 May 2011, in Times 19 May 2011

“The true measure of all our is how long the good in them lasts… everything we do, we do for the young.”

“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, “Queen’s Christmas message – full text”, http://www.theguardian.com. December 25, 2013.

“It has turned out to be an annus horribilis.”
QUEEN ELIZABETH II, Speech at Guildhall, London, 24 Nov. 1992

“In tomorrow’s world we must all work together as hard as ever, if we’re truly to be united nations.”

“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, “Queen: both sides suffered in the war” by Luke Harding, http://www.theguardian.com. November 3, 2004.

“What were once only hopes for the future have now come to pass.”
QUEEN ELIZABETH II, Queen Elizabeth II’s Dublin Castle Speech, http://www.telegraph.co.uk. May 18, 2011.

“Some things stay there, some things go out of the other ear, and some things don’t go in at all.”

“It has perhaps always been the case that the waging of peace is the hardest form of leadership of all.”
QUEEN ELIZABETH II, Address to the United Nations General Assembly, delivered 6 July 2010

“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.”
QUEEN ELIZABETH II, 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.

“We are a moderate pragmatic people, more comfortable with practice than theory.”

“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.”
QUEEN ELIZABETH II, Speech during the commemorations of D-Day, 06/06/2014.

“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, “Queen Elizabeth: Christmas ‘more somber’ this year”, http://www.cnn.com. December 26, 2008.

“Family does not necessarily mean blood relatives but often a description of a community, organization or nation.”

“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, Queen Elizabeth II’s Dublin Castle Speech, http://www.telegraph.co.uk. May 18, 2011.

“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, 1992 Speech at the Guildhall, 24 Nov.

“Think what we would have missed if we had never … used a mobile phone or surfed the Net — or, to be honest, listened to other people talking about surfing the Net.”
QUEEN ELIZABETH II, Quoted in Daily Telegraph (London), 21 Nov. 1997

“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, Queen Elizabeth II’s Speech on her Coronation Day, http://www.royal.uk. June 2, 1953.

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

“:For many, Christmas is also a time for coming together. But for others, service will come first.”
QUEEN ELIZABETH II, “Queen describes ‘humbling’ diamond jubilee in Christmas message” by Caroline Davies, http://www.theguardian.com. December 25, 2012.

“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, Tribute to Princess Diana on the Eve of her Funeral, delivered 9 September 1997, Chinese Dining Room at Buckingham Palace, Westminster

“Our religions provide critical guidance for the way we live our lives, and for the way in which we treat each other.”

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