00:00I speak to you today with feelings of profound sorrow.
00:05Throughout her life, Her Majesty the Queen, my beloved mother,
00:11was an inspiration, an example to me and to all my family.
00:16And we owe her the most heartfelt debt any family could owe to their mother
00:22for her love, affection, guidance, understanding and example.
00:31Queen Elizabeth was a life well lived, a promise with destiny kept
00:37and she is mourned most deeply in her passing.
00:42That promise of lifelong service I renew to you all today.
00:49Alongside the personal grief that all my family are feeling,
00:54we also share with so many of you in the United Kingdom,
00:58in all the countries where the Queen was Head of State,
01:02in the Commonwealth and across the world,
01:06a deep sense of gratitude for the more than 70 years
01:10in which my mother, as Queen, served the people of so many nations.
01:18In 1947, on her 21st birthday,
01:23she pledged in a broadcast from Cape Town to the Commonwealth
01:28to devote her life, whether it be short or long,
01:33to the service of her peoples.
01:36That was more than a promise.
01:40It was a profound personal commitment which defined her whole life.
01:48She made sacrifices for duty.
01:52Her dedication and devotion as sovereign never wavered
01:57through times of change and progress,
02:01through times of joy and celebration,
02:05and through times of sadness and loss.
02:10In her life of service,
02:13we saw that abiding love of tradition,
02:16together with that fearless embrace of progress,
02:21which makes us great as nations.
02:25The affection, admiration and respect she inspired
02:30became the hallmark of her reign.
02:35And, as every member of my family can testify,
02:39she combined these qualities with warmth, humour
02:44and an unerring ability always to see the best in people.
02:51I pay tribute to my mother's memory
02:54and I honour her life of service.
02:59I know that her death brings great sadness to so many of you
03:05and I share that sense of loss beyond measure with you all.
03:12When the Queen came to the throne,
03:15Britain and the world were still coping
03:18with the privations and aftermath of the Second World War
03:23and still living by the conventions of earlier times.
03:28In the course of the last 70 years,
03:31we have seen our society become one of many cultures and many faiths.
03:37The institutions of the State have changed in turn.
03:43But, through all changes and challenges,
03:47our nation and the wider family of realms,
03:51of whose talents, traditions and achievements
03:55I am so inexpressibly proud,
03:58have prospered and flourished.
04:02Our values have remained and must remain constant.
04:09The role and the duties of monarchy also remain,
04:14as does the sovereign's particular relationship
04:18and responsibility towards the Church of England,
04:22the Church in which my own faith is so deeply rooted.
04:27In that faith, and the values it inspires,
04:31I have been brought up to cherish a sense of duty to others
04:35and to hold in the greatest respect
04:38the precious traditions, freedoms and responsibilities
04:43of our unique history
04:45and our system of parliamentary government.
04:50As the Queen herself did with such unswerving devotion,
04:56I too now solemnly pledge myself,
04:59throughout the remaining time God grants me,
05:03to uphold the constitutional principles
05:05at the heart of our nation.
05:09And wherever you may live in the United Kingdom,
05:13or in the realms and territories across the world,
05:18and whatever may be your background or beliefs,
05:21I shall endeavour to serve you with loyalty, respect and love,
05:28as I have throughout my life.
05:32My life will, of course, change
05:35as I take up my new responsibilities.
05:39It will no longer be possible for me
05:41to give so much of my time and energies
05:45to the charities and issues for which I care so deeply.
05:50But I know this important work will go on
05:53in the trusted hands of others.
05:58This is also a time of change for my family.
06:02I count on the loving help of my darling wife, Camilla.
06:08In recognition of her own loyal public service
06:12since our marriage 17 years ago,
06:15she becomes my Queen Consort.
06:19I know she will bring to the demands of her new role
06:23the steadfast devotion to duty
06:26on which I have come to rely so much.
06:30As my heir, William now assumes the Scottish titles
06:35which have meant so much to me.
06:39He succeeds me as Duke of Cornwall
06:41and takes on the responsibilities
06:44for the Duchy of Cornwall,
06:46which I have undertaken for more than five decades.
06:53Today, I am proud to create him Prince of Wales
06:57to Wyssog, Cymru,
07:00the country whose title I've been so greatly privileged to bear
07:05during so much of my life and duty.
07:11With Catherine beside him,
07:13our new Prince and Princess of Wales will, I know,
07:18continue to inspire and lead our national conversations,
07:22helping to bring the marginal to the centre ground
07:25where vital help can be given.
07:29I want also to express my love for Harry and Meghan
07:34as they continue to build their lives overseas.
07:41In a little over a week's time,
07:44we will come together as a nation,
07:47as a Commonwealth,
07:49and indeed a global community,
07:51to lay my beloved mother to rest.
07:55In our sorrow,
07:58let us remember
07:59and draw strength
08:01from the light of her example.
08:05On behalf of all my family,
08:08I can only offer
08:09the most sincere
08:11and heartfelt thanks
08:13for your condolences
08:15and support.
08:17They mean more to me
08:19than I can ever possibly express.
08:23And, to my darling Mama,
08:27as you begin your last great journey
08:31to join my dear late Papa,
08:34I want simply to say this.
08:39Thank you
08:40for your love
08:42and devotion
08:43to our family
08:45and to the family of nations
08:47you have served so diligently
08:50all these years.
08:53May
08:54flights of angels
08:56sing thee
08:57to thy rest.
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