Queen Elizabeth II Quotes: What Britain’s Longest Reigning Monarch Said Throughout 65 Years

Queen Elizabeth II, the longest-reigning British monarch, will be passing another milestone Monday by marking 65 years on the British throne. She is the first British monarch to celebrate their Sapphire Jubilee.

While the queen’s Diamond Jubilee in 2012 was a multinational celebration, she is reported to commemorate the Sapphire Jubilee in private at her Sandringham Estate, Norfolk. There are no official engagements planned for the milestone of the 90-year-old, who ascended the throne in 1952 after her father King George VI’s death.

However, as per tradition, a 41-gun salute by the King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery in Green Park, London, will be staged Monday to commemorate the day. A selection of celebratory music, close to the firing position is reported to be played by the Band of the Royal Artillery. Also, 89 horses will reportedly pull six World War I-era 13-pounder field guns into position in the park and a 62-gun salute by the Honourable Artillery Company will be made at the Tower of London.

Apart from the traditional celebrations, the Royal Mint will mark the queen’s achievement with various specially designed Sapphire Jubilee commemorative coins and the Royal Mail will issue a Sapphire Blue £5 stamp. A 2014 portrait by David Bailey showing the queen sapphire jewelry given by her father as a wedding gift will be reissued.

Recently, the queen made headlines over her “heavy cold,” because of which she skipped annual royal holiday celebrations, including Christmas and New Year services. However, she has recovered since then and has attended several events and resumed her royal duties.

Following are the quotes by Queen Elizabeth II throughout the 65 years of her reign.

“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.” — The queen’s 21st birthday on April 21, 1947.

“In a way I didn’t have an apprenticeship. My father died much too young. It was all a very sudden kind of taking it on and making the best job you can. It’s a question of maturing into something that one’s got used to doing and accepting the fact that here you here, and it’s your fate, because I think that continuity is very important. It is a job for life,” — Recalling the death of her father, King George VI, in 1952 and her subsequent rise to power.

“Therefore I am sure that this, my Coronation, is not the symbol of a power and a splendor 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.” —Coronation in 1953.

“I share in your determination to cherish her memory. I hope that tomorrow we can all, wherever we are, join in expressing our grief at Diana's loss, and gratitude for her all-too-short life. It is a chance to show to the whole world the British nation united in grief and respect. May those who died rest in peace and may we, each and every one of us, thank God for someone who made many, many people happy,” — In a speech about Princess Diana following her death in 1997.

“Grief is the price we pay for love.” — At a service of remembrance in New York for British citizens missing in 9/11 terror attack.

“It has perhaps always been the case that the waging of peace is the hardest form of leadership of all. I know of no single formula for success, but over the years I have observed that some attributes of leadership are universal, and are often about finding ways of encouraging people to combine their efforts, their talents, their insights, their enthusiasm and their inspiration, to work together.” — Addressing the United Nations General Assembly in July 2010.