I declare before you all that my whole life whether it be long or short shall be devoted to your service.

I have in sincerity pledged myself to your service, as so many of you are pledged to mine. Throughout all my life and with all my heart I shall strive to be worthy of your trust.

I shall not have the strength to carry out this resolution alone, unless you join in it with me as I now invite you to do. I know that your support will be unfailingly given. God help me to make good my vow and God bless all of you, who are willing to share with it.

As we mark this anniversary, it gives me pleasure to renew to you the pledge I gave in 1947, that my life will always be devoted to your service. And so, as I look forward to continuing to serve you with all my heart, I hope this jubilee will bring together families and friends, neighbours and communities - after some difficult times for so many of us - in order to enjoy the celebrations and to reflect on the positive developments in our day-to-day lives that have so happily coincided with my reign.

Prayer makes your heart bigger, until it is capable of containing the gift of God himself. Prayer begets faith, faith begets love, and love begets service on behalf of the poor.

In the months since the death of my beloved Philip, I have drawn great comfort from the warmth and affection of the many tributes to his life and work - from around the country, the Commonwealth, and the world. His sense of service, intellectual curiosity and capacity to squeeze fun out of any situation - were all irrepressible. That mischievous, enquiring twinkle was as bright at the end as when I first set eyes on him.