September 8, 2022

""When the Queen became this country’s longest-serving monarch, the humility with which she acknowledged the passing of that historic moment reflected the same selfless dedication..."

"... with which she once promised to serve her people. Some 68 years separated the pledge she made in Cape Town on her 21st birthday and the modest speech that she made on passing Queen Victoria’s record in September 2015, but even if the empire to which she devoted herself no longer exists, the values she spoke of then were the values to which she still held true a lifetime later. 'My whole life,' she said, in that resonant passage that captured imaginations worldwide in 1947, 'whether it be long or short, shall be devoted to your service.'"

Here is the 1947 speech:


Scroll to 5:46 for the famous quoted passage, "My whole life, whether it be long or short, shall be devoted to your service."

19 comments:

rhhardin said...

The pope is the world's most humble man. The queen would be at best second.

rhhardin said...

What happens now to the USB of Obama's collected speeches that Obama gave her for her birthday?

Jupiter said...

"... even if the empire to which she devoted herself no longer exists..."

Shouldn't we be tearing down her racist statues and cursing her name?

William said...

I'm neutral as regards the institution of the monarchy, but she certainly fulfilled her functions conscientiously and admirably. There was nothing to dislike about her. I'm genuinely saddened by her passing. She's been there for most of my life, reliably dull, reliably decent, reliably there..... When I was a little boy, I remember how excited my sister was by the very concept of a real life Princess becoming a real life Queen. I don't think the coronation of Prince Charles will have anywhere near the amount of glamour that was present in hers.

rehajm said...

An amazing, extraordinary life…only because uncle Ed couldn’t hack it…she greeted Trump when the other royal douchebags couldn’t handle it. None of them have the plums…WaPo and others were trashing her only a few weeks ago. Go tell King Biden to step down…

Mason G said...

"I don't think the coronation of Prince Charles will have anywhere near the amount of glamour that was present in hers."

Well, he's an old white male, so...

rehajm said...

When you visit Windsor Castle as a tourist the doll house sits in the reception area. Duty over, Elizabeth…

Mikey NTH said...

She was gracious and kind. That goes a long way. RIP your majesty.

Jefferson's Revenge said...

For those who think her empire doesn’t still exist, take a step back and look at the ex-colonies and related; India, South Africa, Singapore, Kenya, etc.

Please compare them not with perfection but compare them with their neighbors. Not perfect but much better than they would have been without the Brit experience.

They left a foundation behind them. Education and infrastructure.

Much of the good in this world has come from the British Empire. Including us. Too many look at her as a celebrity. I think she represents the last of a group of people who understood honor.

Name another world figure that you can call honorable please……….

Andy said...

The shocking news wasn’t so much that she passed so much as the idea that the brits have a king. Charles I got his head chopped off. Charles II restored the monarchy and was known as the Merry Monarch. But, he failed to produce an heir so that his idiot brother James II lose the throne in the Glorious Revolution. Charles III has different ideas about being King, hmmmm.

Michael K said...

Charles will be as bad as "Bertie" son of Victoria, who changed his name to Edward VII.

Marc in Eugene said...

I heard the Archbishop of York, I don't recall his name (the silly Catholic Bishops of England and Wales are enough to try to keep track of), on the BBC at some point in the early afternoon eulogize Elisabeth and her sincere Christian faith and other virtues in a quite passionate way, in the couple of minutes they gave him. Stephen something or other, and while I believe he belongs to the 'women make great bishops' wing of the C of E. he certainly made use of his three or four minutes in an effective way, unlike Vincent Cardinal Nichols who mush-mouthed his way through his allotment of time.

rehajm said...

…and that ‘title’ Camilla has. I used to think Elizabeth was a bit cruel with that whole thing but she was on to something…

The Godfather said...

I am not a royalist. I;m a republican. My Emglish ancestors came to America in 1620-50. Some of them fought for the Crown aginst the Franch and Indians. Starting in 1775 (at Bunker Hill) and later at Saratoga they fought the Brits and helped us win our independence. But Queen Elizabeth II was an honorable person. If I were still a Brit, I'd have been proud to call her my Queen.

The Godfather said...

I am not a royalist. I;m a republican. My Emglish ancestors came to America in 1620-50. Some of them fought for the Crown aginst the Franch and Indians. Starting in 1775 (at Bunker Hill) and later at Saratoga they fought the Brits and helped us win our independence. But Queen Elizabeth II was an honorable person. If I were still a Brit, I'd have been proud to call her my Queen.

Bunkypotatohead said...

Liz Truss got in just under the wire. What would have happened had the queen died two days ago?

Jamie said...

I think she represents the last of a group of people who understood honor.

Hear hear. My husband is a Mayflower descendant; I'm shanty Irish. Both of us appreciate honor and duty.

Big Mike said...

And another World War II veteran passes. It’s worth noting that she served in uniform as a member of the ATS, Britain’s version of the WACs, working as a mechanic in a motor pool. Her home — Buckinvham Palace — was bombed during the Blitz. I suspect that living through one’s teenaged and early adult years during that time had a lot to do with her opinion towards the US.

hombre said...

I'm sure in the upcoming days that Elizabeth will be disparaged by progressives and their media consorts. (Poor Harry and Meghan, you know, who will be paid $100 million by the execrable Netflix to whine on screen./s)

Nevertheless, I am unaware of any leader during my lifetime who has behaved with such dignity and obvious dedication to her "constituency." It is troubling that she will be succeeded by Charles whose behavior has been notable for other reasons.