Queen Elizabeth II Quotes

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.

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.

Let us not take ourselves too seriously.
None of us has a monopoly on wisdom.

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.

Good memories are our second chance at happiness.

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 being criticized for her serious expression:] I simply ache from smiling.
Why are women expected to beam all the time? It's unfair.
If a man looks solemn,
it's automatically assumed he's a serious person,
not a miserable one.

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

I don’t like to badmouth people.
But I’m the head of a monarchy that began in the ninth century,
and I’m apparently more modern than Chris Christie.
Look,
I know he has to appeal to the crazy right-wingers in his party,
but the fact is,
he’s not as forward-thinking as an eighty-seven-year-old lady who wears a crown on her head.
It’s pathetic.

It has been women who have breathed gentleness and care into the hard progress of humankind.

I have to be seen to be believed.

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.

Grief is the price we pay for love.

Therefore I am sure that this,
my Coronation,
is not the symbol of a power and a splendour 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.

It's all to do with the training: you can do a lot if you're properly trained.

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.

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.

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.

They are not royal.
They just happen to have me as their aunt.

Work is the rent you pay for the room you occupy on earth.

It has turned out to be an annus horribilis.

To what greater inspiration and counsel can we turn than to the imperishable truth to be found in this treasure house,
the Bible?

Cowards falter,
but danger is often overcome by those who nobly dare.

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

True patriotism doesn't exclude an understanding of the patriotism of others.

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.

[To a woman whose cellphone rang during a formal meeting:] You'd better answer that.
It could be someone important.

I believe that there is a great fear in our generation of being labeled as priggish.

I should like to be a horse.

In the turbulence of this anxious and active world many people are leading uneventful,
lonely lives.
To them dreariness,
not disaster,
is the enemy.
They seldom realize that on their steadfastness,
on their ability to withstand the fatigue of dull repetitive work,
and on their courage in meeting constant small adversities depend in great measure the happiness and prosperity of the community as a whole.
...
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.

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.

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.

For me,
heaven is likely to be a bit of a come-down.

I hope people will think very carefully about the future.

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.

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.

What were once only hopes for the future have now come to pass.

Like all the best families,
we have our share of eccentricities,
of impetuous and wayward youngsters and of family disagreements.

The events that I have attended to mark my Diamond Jubilee have been a humbling experience.
It has touched me deeply to see so many thousands of families,
neighbors and friends celebrating together in such a happy atmosphere.

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.

It has perhaps always been the case that the waging of peace is the hardest form of leadership of all.

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

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.

[Before each of numerous portrait sittings:] Now then,
with teeth or without?

Football's a difficult business and aren't they prima donnas.
But it's a wonderful game.

[On the 1982 intruder into her bedroom:] I realized immediately that it wasn't a servant because they don't slam doors.

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.

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.

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.

I myself prefer my New Zealand eggs for breakfast.