I speak to you today with feelings of profound sorrow, says the King.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI speak to you today with feelings of profound sorrow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThroughout her life, Her Majesty The Queen \u2013 my beloved Mother \u2013 was an inspiration and example to me and to all my family, and we owe her the most heartfelt debt any family can owe to their mother; for her love, affection, guidance, understanding and example.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The King says. \u201cQueen Elizabeth was a life well lived; a promise with destiny kept and she is mourned most deeply in her passing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThat promise of lifelong service I renew to you all today.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAlongside 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,\u201d says the King.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIn 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThat was more than a promise: it was a profound personal commitment which defined her whole life.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She made sacrifices to duty, the King says. \u201cHer dedication and devotion as Sovereign never waivered, through times of change and progress, through times of joy and celebration, and through times of sadness and loss.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
King Charles III continues reflecting on his mother\u2019s service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIn her life of service we saw that abiding love of tradition, together with that fearless embrace of progress, which make us great as Nations. The affection, admiration and respect she inspired became the hallmark of her reign.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAnd, as every member of my family can testify, she combined these qualities with warmth, humour and an unerring ability always to see the best in people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI pay tribute to my mother\u2019s memory and I honour her life of service,\u201d says the King.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI know that her death brings great sadness to so many of you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAnd I share that sense of loss beyond measure with you all.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhen The Queen came to the throne, Britain and the world were still coping with the privations and aftermath of the Second World War, and still living by the conventions of earlier times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIn the course of the last 70 years we have seen our society become one of many cultures and many faiths.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe institutions of the State have changed in turn. But, through all changes and challenges, our nation and the wider family of Realms \u2013 of whose talents, traditions and achievements I am so inexpressibly proud \u2013 have prospered and flourished.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOur values have remained, and must remain, constant. The role and the duties of Monarchy also remain, as does the Sovereign\u2019s particular relationship and responsibility towards the Church of England \u2013 the Church in which my own faith is so deeply rooted.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The King continues as he speaks about succeeding his mother to the throne.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAs the Queen herself did with such unswerving devotion, I too now solemnly pledge myself throughout he remaining time God grants me, to uphold the constitutional principles at the heart of our nation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWherever you may live in the United Kingdom or in the realms and territories across the world and whatever maybe your background and beliefs I shall endeavour to serve you with loyalty, respect and love, as I have throughout my life.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMy life will of course change as I take up my new responsibilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt will no longer be possible for me to give so much of my time and energies to the charities and issues for which I care so deeply.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBut I know this important work will go on in the trusted hands of others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis is also a time of change for my family. I count on the loving help of my darling wife Camilla. In recognition of her own loyal public service since our marriage 17 years ago, she becomes my Queen Consort.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI know she will bring to the demands of her new role the steadfast devotion to duty on which I have come to rely so much.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Speaking next about his mother\u2019s upcoming funeral, the King says: \u201cIn our sorrow let us remember and draw strength from the light of her example.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOn behalf of all my family, I can only offer the most sincere and heartfelt thanks for your condolences and support. They mean more to me than I can ever possibly express.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The King ended his address with the following words:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAnd 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThank you for your love and devotion to our family and to the family of nations you have served so diligently all these years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMay \u2018flights of Angels sing thee to thy rest\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n