“God bless you, darling Mama”: King Charles' touching tribute to Queen Elizabeth II on what would have been 100th birthday
King Charles has paid heartfelt tribute to his “darling Mama” to mark the centenary of her birth - but said much of life today would likely have “troubled her deeply”.
The King's video message talks of how Queen Elizabeth II “remained constant, steadfast and wholly devoted to the people she served” and acknowledged challenges and issues nationally and across the globe that may have caused her reason for concern. King Charles also renewed his “own solemn pledge of duty and service to you all”.
It comes as the late Queen would have turned 100 today (April 21), with The King saying her existence should be celebrated as a “life well-lived” rather than marking an “absence” ahead of a series of royal events that will honour her.
“Much about the times we now live in, I suspect, may have troubled her deeply, but I take heart from her belief that goodness will always prevail and that a brighter dawn is never far from the horizon,” the King said in his message. He added: “For, as a young Princess Elizabeth put it in her first ever public broadcast, aged just 14, we can each play our part ‘to make the world of tomorrow a better and happier place’. It is a belief which I share, with all my heart.”
Queen Elizabeth II died peacefully at her Balmoral home at the age of 96 on September 8, 2022, after serving as sovereign for 70 years.
In the video tribute, filmed in the library at Balmoral Castle in early April, the King added: “Queen Elizabeth’s ‘promise with destiny kept’ shaped the world around her and touched the lives of countless people across our nation, the Commonwealth and beyond. Her near-century was one of remarkable change and yet, through each passing decade, through every transformation, she remained constant, steadfast and wholly devoted to the people she served.
“Millions will remember her for moments of national significance; many others for a fleeting personal encounter, a smile, a kind word that lifted spirits, or for that marvellous twinkle of the eye when sharing a marmalade sandwich with Paddington Bear in the final months of her life.”
The highlight of events will see the royal family gather for a Buckingham Palace reception with charities and organisations associated with the late Queen invited, including Cancer Research UK, the Jockey Club and the Army Benevolent Fund. Guests will include some of the UK’s oldest citizens celebrating their 100th birthday on April 21, with the King presenting their centenary cards in-person.
Charles concluded his message by urging all to follow the late Queen’s “example” and improve the world around us: “So, young or old, and whatever our differences, let us therefore seek to follow this example as we make today not the marking of a milestone felt by absence but the celebration of a life well-lived, and a legacy of hope, as we strive together towards a ‘better, happier tomorrow’ – one rooted in peace, justice, prosperity and security.”
He ended by addressing his mother: “God bless you, darling Mama; you remain forever in our hearts and prayers.”
During the day, members of the monarchy will visit the British Museum to see a scale model of the Queen Elizabeth Memorial with architect Lord Foster, who won the bid to design the national monument, during a reception attended by the prime minister. The memorial will also feature a “family of gardens” through St James’s Park with meandering paths and a new translucent, glass unity bridge.