All my life, I shall strive to be worthy of your trust
On her Coronation Day, Queen’s pledge to the world
WHEN I spoke to you last, at Christmas, I asked you all, whatever your religion, to pray for me on the day of my Coronation — to pray that God would give me wisdom and strength to carry out the promises that I should then be making.
Throughout this memorable day, all of you have been united in one purpose. It is hard to find words in which to tell you of the strength which this has given me.
I have in sincerity pledged myself to your service. Throughout all my life and with all my heart I shall strive to be worthy of your trust.
In this resolve I have my husband to support me. I have in my parents and grandparents an example which I can follow with certainty and with confidence. And I have behind me not
A splendid symbol of hope for the future
only the splendid traditions of more than a thousand years but the living strength and majesty of the Commonwealth, united in spirit and in aim.
Therefore I am sure that this, my Coronation, is not the symbol of a power and a splendour that are gone but a declaration of our hopes for the future and for the years I may, by God’s grace and mercy, be given to reign and serve you as your Queen.
I have been speaking of the vast regions and varied peoples to whom I owe my duty, but there has also sprung from our island home a theme of social and political thought which constitutes our message to the world.
Parliamentary institutions, with their free speech and respect for the rights of minorities, and the inspiration of a broad tolerance in thought and expression — all this we conceive to be a precious part of our way of life.
I ask you now to cherish this message — and practise it too; then we can go forward together in peace, seeking justice and freedom for all men.
I know that my abiding memory of this day will not only be the solemnity and beauty of the ceremony but the inspiration of your loyalty and affection. I thank you all from a full heart. God bless you all.