On her 21st birthday, Queen Elizabeth II said:
“I declare before you all, that my whole life, whether it be long or short, shall be devoted to your service”
It was a promise fully kept. We will remember her for her inspiring dedication to duty and to country. May her shining example live on.
Statement from Angus Campbell, Her Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant for Dorset:
“The country is in deep mourning following the loss of Her Majesty. All our thoughts are with the members of the Royal Family at this most difficult time.
“Whilst still a Princess, on her twenty-first birthday, Her Majesty broadcast a declaration to the country and the Commonwealth which included the words:
“I declare before you all 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.”
“Those words encapsulate the love, service and pure strength of character with which Her Majesty has led the monarchy of Great Britain and the Commonwealth over her extraordinary seventy-year reign. It is so special to see the words of a twenty-one-year-old Princess so perfectly foreshadowing her long life of dedicated service to us all.
“We have all lost a unique, loving and determined Monarch who has, over seventy years, not only delivered the extraordinary, devoted service and support she promised at such an early age, but given us so very much more besides.
“Our loss is incalculable.”
Rest in peace, Queen Elizabeth II.
Long live the King.
