Queen Elizabeth II was an instantly recognisable symbol of stability and service, but few people were afforded the chance to really get to know the woman behind the crown.
However, her own words over the years paint an intimate portrait of her character, and give subtle insights into her personal views and thoughts on everything from family and faith to feminism and refugees.
Here is a selection of her best quotes, which will lift you up, and perhaps even surprise you.
On working together
If enough grains of sand are dropped into one side of a pair of scales they will, in the end, tip it against a lump of lead. — 1975
We may hold different points of view but it is in times of great stress and difficulty that we most need to remember that we have much more in common than there is dividing us. — 1974
On our own, we cannot end wars or wipe out injustice, but the cumulative impact of thousands of small acts of goodness can be bigger than we imagine. — 2016
Being united — that is, feeling a unity of purpose — is the glue that bonds together the members of a family, a country, a Commonwealth. — 1997
On optimism
Perhaps we make too much of what is wrong and too little of what is right. The trouble with gloom is that it feeds upon itself, and depression causes more depression. — 1974
It is sobering and inspiring to remember what man will do for an ideal in which he believes. — 1981
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. — 2008
There's an old saying that "it is better to light a candle than curse the darkness". There are millions of people lighting candles of hope in our world today. — 2015
On making a difference
If you throw a stone into a pool, the ripples go on spreading outwards. A big stone can cause waves, but even the smallest pebble changes the whole pattern of the water. Our daily actions are like those ripples, each one makes a difference, even the smallest. — 1975
It is a matter of making the best of ourselves, not just doing the best for ourselves. — 1975
Now, as ever, the important time for mankind is the future; the coming years are full of hope and promise, and their course can still be shaped by our will and action. — 1963
Everything we do now is helping to shape the world in which our children are going to live. — 1968
On family
If I am asked what I think about family life I can answer with simplicity and conviction — I am for it. — 1972
I think we should remember that in spite of all the scientific advances and great improvements in our material welfare, the family remains as the focal point of our existence. — 1956
Like all the best families, we have our share of eccentricities, of impetuous and wayward youngsters and of family disagreements. — 1989
Family does not necessarily mean blood relatives but often a description of a community, organisation or nation. — 2011
[Prince Philip] has quite simply been my strength and stay all these years, and I … owe him a debt greater than he would ever claim, or we shall ever know. — 1997
On war and peace
Our peace and prosperity can never be taken for granted and must constantly be tended, so that never again do we have cause to build monuments to our fallen youth. — 2014
Those who know the desert also know how quickly it can flower when the rains come. When the conflict stops, peace can blossom just as quickly. — 1976
It has always been easy to hate and destroy. To build and to cherish is much more difficult. — 1957
In remembering the appalling suffering of war on both sides, we recognise how precious is the peace we have built in Europe since 1945. — 2004
We all ought to know by now that a civilised and peaceful existence is only possible when people make the effort to understand each other. — 1972
On grief
Grief is the price we pay for love. — 2011
We all enjoy moments of great happiness and suffer times of profound sadness; the happiness is heightened, the sadness softened when it is shared. — 2001
Sadly, it seems that it is tragedy that often draws out the most and the best from the human spirit. — 2012
On feminism
It has been women who have breathed gentleness and care into the harsh progress of mankind. — 1966
The struggles against inhuman prejudice, against squalor, ignorance, and disease, have always owed a great deal to the determination and tenacity of women. — 1966
On wisdom and age
Let us not take ourselves too seriously. None of us has a monopoly of wisdom and we must always be ready to listen and respect other points of view. — 1991
There is no point in regretting the passage of time. Growing older is one of the facts of life, and it has its own compensations. — 1987
On being Queen
I declare before you 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. — 1947
My coronation is not the symbol of a power and a splendour that are gone but a declaration of our hopes for the future. — 1953
I cannot lead you into battle, I do not give you laws or administer justice, but I can do something else. I can give you my heart and my devotion to these old islands and to all the peoples of our brotherhood of nations. — 1957
In a way I didn't have an apprenticeship. It's a question of just maturing into what you're doing and accepting that here you are and it's your fate. I think continuity is very important. It is a job for life. — 1992
I have a feeling that, in the end, probably, training is the answer to a great many things. You can do a lot if you're properly trained. — 1992
On the Commonwealth
In the ideal of the Commonwealth we have been entrusted with something very special. We have in our hands a most potent force for good, and one of the true unifying bonds in this torn world. — 1962
The poet John Donne said: "No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main." That is the message of the Commonwealth. — 1982
The Commonwealth is not an organisation with a mission. It is rather an opportunity for its people to work together to achieve practical solutions to problems. — 2009
On Australia
I am proud indeed to be at the head of a nation that has achieved so much. — 1954
[Central Australia] has a magnetic effect upon those who want more out of life than humdrum security and the tidy rules of a comfortable suburbia. — 1963
No-one will be able to suggest to me that Central Australia is a dead heart. From now on, I shall always look upon it as a living heart, beating with confident energy. — 1963
On technological change
In the year I was born, radio communication was barely out of its infancy; there was no television; civil aviation had hardly started and space satellites were still in the realm of science fiction. — 1983
Year by year, new secrets of nature are being revealed to us by science — secrets of immense power, for good or evil, according to their use. — 1955
Men and women have shown themselves to be very clever at inventing things, right back to the time when they found out how much easier it was to move things about on wheels, up to the present time when rockets and computers make it possible for people to travel away from our world into the mystery of space. — 1989
This mastery of technology may blind us to the more fundamental needs of people. Electronics cannot create comradeship; computers cannot generate compassion; satellites cannot transmit tolerance. — 1983
As I look to the future I have no doubt at all that the one certainty is change, and the pace of that change will only seem to increase. — 1999
I have … witnessed great change, much of it for the better, particularly in science and technology, and in social attitudes. — 2010
On youth
You children have something to give us which is priceless. You can still look at the world with a sense of wonder and remind us grown-ups that life is wonderful and precious. — 1989
Above all, we must keep alive that courageous spirit of adventure that is the finest quality of youth; and by youth I do not just mean those who are young in years; I mean too all those who are young in heart, no matter how old they may be. — 1952
I would like to say one more word to the young people of the Commonwealth. Upon you rests our hope for the future. You young people are needed; there is a great task ahead of you — the building of a new world. — 1964
On discrimination, refugees and tolerance
We call them "refugees". Let us give them true refuge. Let us see that for them and their children there is room at the inn. — 1956
Of course it is right that people should hold their own beliefs … but perhaps we should also have the humility to accept that, while we each have a right to our own convictions, others have a right to theirs too. — 1987
I believe that for those with a sense of tolerance the arrival and proximity of different races and religions have provided a much better chance for each to appreciate the value of the others. — 1982
Discrimination still exists. Some people feel that their own beliefs are being threatened. Some are unhappy about unfamiliar cultures. The need to look after a fellow human being is far more important than any cultural or religious differences. — 2004
On her faith
Christ's example helps me see the value of doing small things with great love, whoever does them and whatever they themselves believe. — 2016
For me, the life of Jesus Christ … is an inspiration and an anchor in my life. A role model of reconciliation and forgiveness. He stretched out his hands in love, acceptance and healing. — 2014
Religion and culture are much in the news these days, usually as sources of difference and conflict, rather than for bringing people together. But the irony is that every religion has something to say about tolerance and respecting others. — 2004
We all have something to learn from one another, whatever our faith — be it Christian or Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu or Sikh. — 2001
