Queen Elizabeth II Quotes

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.

Good memories are our second chance at happiness.

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.

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.

Grief is the price we pay for love.

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

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.

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

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

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.

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

I have to be seen to be believed.

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

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

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.

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 should like to be a horse.

I hope people will think very carefully about the future.

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

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.

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

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

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.

[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.