00:00I speak to you today with feelings of profound sorrow.
00:06Throughout her life, Her Majesty the Queen, my beloved mother,
00:12was an inspiration, an example to me and to all my family.
00:17And we owe her the most heartfelt debt any family could owe to their mother
00:23for her love, affection, guidance, understanding and example.
00:32Queen Elizabeth was a life well lived, a promise with destiny kept,
00:38and she is mourned most deeply in her passing.
00:43That promise of lifelong service I renew to you all today.
00:48Anyway, alongside the personal grief that all my family are feeling,
00:54we also share with so many of you in the United Kingdom,
00:59in all the countries where the Queen was Head of State,
01:02in the Commonwealth and across the world,
01:06a deep sense of gratitude for the more than 70 years
01:10in which my mother, as Queen, served the people of so many nations.
01:18In 1947, on her 21st birthday,
01:23she pledged in a broadcast from Cape Town to the Commonwealth
01:28to devote her life, whether it be short or long,
01:33to the service of her peoples.
01:37That was more than a promise.
01:41It was a profound personal commitment which defined her whole life.
01:47She made sacrifices for duty.
01:52Her dedication and devotion as sovereign never wavered
01:57through times of change and progress,
02:01through times of joy and celebration,
02:05and through times of sadness and loss.
02:11In her life of service,
02:13we saw that abiding love of tradition,
02:17together with that fearless embrace of progress,
02:21which makes us great as nations.
02:25The affection, admiration and respect she inspired
02:30became the hallmark of her reign.
02:35And, as every member of my family can testify,
02:40she combined these qualities with warmth, humour
02:44and an unerring ability always to see the best in people.
02:51I pay tribute to my mother's memory
02:55and I honour her life of service.
03:00I know that her death brings great sadness to so many of you
03:05and I share that sense of loss beyond measure with you all.
03:13When the Queen came to the throne,
03:16Britain and the world were still coping
03:18with the privations and aftermath of the Second World War
03:24and still living by the conventions of earlier times.
03:28In the course of the last 70 years,
03:31we have seen our society become
03:34one of many cultures and many faiths.
03:38The institutions of the state have changed in turn.
03:44But, through all changes and challenges,
03:47our nation and the wider family of realms,
03:51of whose talents, traditions and achievements
03:56I am so inexpressibly proud
03:58have prospered and flourished.
04:02Our values have remained
04:05and must remain constant.
04:09The role and the duties of monarchy also remain,
04:15as does the sovereign's particular relationship
04:18and responsibility towards the Church of England,
04:22the Church in which my own faith is so deeply rooted.
04:27In that faith and the values it inspires,
04:31I have been brought up to cherish a sense of duty to others
04:36and to hold in the greatest respect
04:39the precious traditions, freedoms and responsibilities
04:43of our unique history
04:45and our system of parliamentary government.
04:51As the Queen herself did with such unswerving devotion,
04:56I too now solemnly pledge myself,
04:59throughout the remaining time God grants me,
05:03to uphold the constitutional principles
05:06at the heart of our nation.
05:09And wherever you may live in the United Kingdom
05:13or in the realms and territories across the world,
05:18and whatever may be your background or beliefs,
05:22I shall endeavour to serve you with loyalty,
05:26respect and love,
05:28as I have throughout my life.
05:32My life will, of course, change
05:35as I take up my new responsibilities.
05:39It will no longer be possible for me
05:42to give so much of my time and energies
05:45to the charities and issues
05:47for which I care so deeply.
05:50But I know this important work
05:53will go on in the trusted hands of others.
05:58This is also a time of change for my family.
06:02I count on the loving help of my darling wife, Camilla.
06:08In recognition of her own loyal public service
06:12since our marriage 17 years ago,
06:15she becomes my Queen Consort.
06:19I know she will bring to the demands of her new role
06:23the steadfast devotion to duty
06:26on which I have come to rely so much.
06:31As my heir, William now assumes the Scottish titles
06:36which have meant so much to me.
06:39He succeeds me as Duke of Cornwall
06:42and takes on the responsibilities
06:45for the Duchy of Cornwall,
06:47which I have undertaken for more than five decades.
06:52Today, I am proud to create him Prince of Wales
06:58to Wyshog Cymru,
07:00the country whose title I've been so greatly privileged to bear
07:05during so much of my life and duty.
07:11With Catherine beside him,
07:14our new Prince and Princess of Wales will, I know,
07:18continue to inspire and lead our national conversations,
07:22helping to bring the marginal to the centre ground
07:26where vital help can be given.
07:30I want also to express my love for Harry and Meghan
07:34as they continue to build their lives overseas.
07:41In a little over a week's time,
07:44we will come together as a nation,
07:48as a Commonwealth,
07:49and indeed a global community,
07:52to lay my beloved mother to rest.
07:56In our sorrow,
07:58let us remember
07:59and draw strength
08:01from the light of her example.
08:05On behalf of all my family,
08:08I can only offer
08:10the most sincere
08:11and heartfelt thanks
08:13for your condolences and support.
08:17They mean more to me
08:19than I can ever possibly express.
08:24And to my darling Mama,
08:28as you begin your last great journey
08:31to join my dear late Papa,
08:34I want simply to say this.
08:38Thank you.
08:39Thank you
08:41for your love
08:42and devotion
08:43to our family
08:45and to the family of nations
08:48you have served so diligently
08:50all these years.
08:54May
08:54flights of angels
08:56sing thee
08:58to thy rest.
