The Most Memorable Quotes From Queen Elizabeth II

The life of Queen Elizabeth II was remarkable in more ways than one. Born on April 21 in 1926, she was the longest-reigning British monarch in history upon her death on September 8, 2022, at age 96. She also holds the distinction of being the fourth-longest reigning monarch of all time worldwide, having spent 70 years on the throne.
In 1945, before she became queen, Elizabeth joined the women’s Auxiliary Territorial Service (a branch of the British Army) and trained as a truck driver and mechanic at just 18 years old. Just under 10 years later, she was crowned as Queen Elizabeth II, beginning a reign that for most citizens of Britain and the Commonwealth is the only one they’ve ever known. And in her time as monarch, she worked with 14 British prime ministers, from Winston Churchill to Boris Johnson.
The monarch’s life was marked with moments of great joy and fanfare, but also great tragedy. In times of crisis, she never wavered. Even the staunchest anti-royalist might begrudgingly agree that Elizabeth showed a fierce and unfaltering dedication in her role as queen.
As the following quotes show, she was always ready to show support in times of need with words of wisdom and empathy, or with witty remarks that showed that even the Queen of England can have a sense of humor.
When World War II broke out in 1939, Elizabeth, who was just a teenaged princess was eager to help with the war effort. She begged her father, who allowed her to make a radio address to the children of the Commonwealth. It was her first public speech.
When King George VI died on February 6, 1952, it was time for his eldest daughter, Princess Elizabeth, to take the throne. She was crowned at the age of 27.
Elizabeth’s Christmas broadcast of 1957 was a historic moment, as it was the first to be televised. It also fell on the 25th anniversary of Britain’s first Christmas Broadcast on the radio.
During a trip to New Zealand in 1986, the queen and Prince Philip were pelted with eggs thrown by anti-royalist protestors. The queen humorously referred to the incident during a speech a few days later.
When an unfortunate guard failed to recognize the queen as she arrived at the Royal Windsor Horse Show, he refused her entry and said, “Sorry love, you can’t come in without a sticker.” The queen was unfazed and certainly amused, and replied with the above now-famous line.
With the nation in shock, Elizabeth paid tribute to Princess Diana in a live television address. Her focus was very much on Diana’s two children, the queen’s grandsons William and Harry.
Elizabeth met her future husband when she was just 8 years old and fell in love with him in her early teens. She married Prince Philip in 1947, when she was 21. As she noted in her wedding anniversary speech, a lot had happened during 50 years of marriage: Prime Ministers had come and gone, man had walked on the moon, and the world had been introduced to the Beatles, television, cellphones, and the internet.
The queen’s message was read by the British ambassador to Washington, Sir Christopher Meyer, at a prayer service in New York. Elizabeth is often cited as the original source of the quote, but she was likely paraphrasing from a passage written by Colin Murray Parkes, a British psychiatrist famous for his books on grief.
During the queen’s trip to the United States in 2007, President George W. Bush stumbled over his lines at the welcome ceremony, accidentally stating that Elizabeth had helped celebrate the U.S. bicentennial in 1776, rather than 1976 — adding 200 years to her age. At a later speech, attended by Bush, the queen playfully teased the President, provoking much laughter from him and the assembled dignitaries.
The Queen struck a somber tone in her 2008 Christmas Broadcast, due to the problems caused by the global financial crisis. But in typically determined fashion, she also urged people to not lose hope.
While visiting the Chelsea Flower Show in 2016, a gardener informed the queen that lily of the valley was once used as a poison. Elizabeth’s quick reply demonstrated her fondness for dry — and sometimes dark — British humor.
The Queen made a special address in April 2020 concerning the coronavirus pandemic. Many people were quick to note her poignant use of the words “we will meet again,” a reference to the 1939 song “We’ll Meet Again,” made famous by singer Vera Lynn. It was one of the most popular songs during World War II, and an inspiration to soldiers heading off to war as well as to their families back home.