Quotes By Queen Elizabeth II

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.

I take this opportunity to mention the strength I draw from my own family. The Duke of Edinburgh has made an invaluable contribution to my life over these past fifty years, as he has to so many charities and organisations with which he has been involved.

All too often, I fear, Prince Philip has had to listen to me speaking. Frequently we have discussed my intended speech beforehand and, as you will imagine, his views have been expressed in a forthright manner.

Prince Philip is, I believe, well-known for declining compliments of any kind. But throughout he has been a constant strength and guide.

It's no surprise that families so often treasure their Christmas routines. We see our own children and their families embrace the roles, traditions, and values that mean so much to us - as these are passed from one generation to the next, sometimes being updated for changing times. I see it in my own family and it is a source of great happiness.

I am sure someone somewhere today will remark that Christmas is a time for children. It's an engaging truth, but only half the story. Perhaps it's truer to say that Christmas can speak to the child within us all. Adults, when weighed down with worries, sometimes fail to see the joy in simple things, where children do not.

It is this simplicity of the Christmas story that makes it so universally appealing, simple happenings that formed the starting point of the life of Jesus. A man whose teachings have been handed down from generation to generation, and have been the bedrock of my faith.