It has turned out to be an annus horribilis.

I believe that there is a great fear in our generation of being labeled as priggish.

[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.

Therefore I am sure that this, my Coronation, is not the symbol of a power and a splendour that are gone but a declaration of our hopes for the future, and for the years I may, by God's Grace and Mercy, be given to reign and serve you as your Queen.

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.

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

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