00:00 [ Music ]
00:20 >> Now it is well known I think that my dear mother,
00:23 the late queen, had a particular affection for Kenya
00:28 and the Kenyan people.
00:30 She arrived here in 1952 a princess but left as queen.
00:37 It is extremely moving to read her diary from that visit
00:42 in which she wrote that she did not want to miss a moment
00:45 of Kenya's extraordinary landscapes.
00:49 I really cannot thank you enough
00:51 for the support Kenya gave her through that difficult time.
00:55 It is the intimacy of our shared history
01:00 that has brought our people together.
01:03 However, we must also acknowledge the most painful
01:07 times of our long and complex relationship.
01:12 The wrongdoings of the past are a cause of the greatest sorrow
01:16 and the deepest regret.
01:19 There were abhorrent and unjustifiable acts
01:22 of violence committed against Kenyans as they waged,
01:27 as you said at the United Nations, a painful struggle
01:31 for independence and sovereignty.
01:34 And for that, there can be no excuse.
01:39 In coming back to Kenya, it matters greatly to me
01:44 that I should deepen my own understanding of these wrongs
01:49 and that I meet some of those whose lives and communities
01:52 were so grievously affected.
01:56 None of this can change the past,
01:59 but by addressing our history with honesty and openness,
02:04 we can perhaps demonstrate the strength of our friendship
02:08 today.
02:10 And in so doing, we can, I hope, continue
02:14 to build an ever closer bond for the years ahead.
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