A Bit of Wisdom from Queen Elizabeth II 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022

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

“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.”

“For I know that, despite the huge constitutional difference between a hereditary monarchy and an elected government, in reality the gulf is not so wide … And each, in its different way, exists only with the support and consent of the people.”

“Grief is the price we pay for love.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

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

“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.”

President Reagan riding horses with Queen Elizabeth II during visit to Windsor Castle