King Charles III

To my darling Mama, as you begin your last great journey to join my dear late Papa, I want simply to say this: thank you. May flights of angels sing thee to thy rest. I speak to you today with feelings of profound sorrow.

Throughout her life, Her Majesty the Queen, my beloved mother, was an inspiration and example to me and to all my family. And we owe her the most heartfelt debt any family could owe to their mother, for her love, affection, guidance, understanding, and example. Queen Elizabeth was a life well-lived, a promise with destiny kept, and she is mourned most deeply in her passing.

That promise of lifelong service I renew to you all today. Alongside the personal grief that all my family are feeling, we also share with so many of you in the United Kingdom, in all the countries where the Queen was head of state, in the Commonwealth and across the world, a deep sense of gratitude for the more than 70 years in which my mother, as Queen, served the people of so many nations.

In 1947, on her 21st birthday, she pledged in a broadcast from Cape Town to the Commonwealth to devote her life, whether it be short or long, to the service of her peoples. That was more than a promise. It was a profound personal commitment which defined her whole life.

She made sacrifices for duty. Her dedication and devotion as sovereign never wavered through times of change and progress, through times of joy and celebration, and through times of sadness and loss. In her life of service, we saw that abiding love of tradition, together with that fearless embrace of progress, which makes us great as nations.

The affection, admiration, and respect she inspired became the hallmark of her reign. And as every member of my family can testify, she combined these qualities with warmth, humor, and an unerring ability always to see the best in people. I pay tribute to my mother's memory and I honor her life of service.