King Charles III is remembering his “darling mama,” the late Queen Elizabeth II, on what would have been her 100th birthday.
“Today, as we mark what would have been my beloved mother’s 100th birthday, my family and I pause to reflect on the life and loss of a sovereign who meant so much to us all and to celebrate anew the many blessings of her memory,” Charles, 77, said in a video released by Buckingham Palace on Tuesday, April 21.
He continued, “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 marvelous twinkle of the eye when sharing a marmalade sandwich with Paddington Bear in the final months of her life,” Charles said.
According to Charles — the eldest of Elizabeth’s four children with her husband, the late Prince Philip — “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.”
“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,’” he said. “It is a belief which I share with all my heart.”
“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,” Charles said. “In this, I renew my own solemn pledge of duty and service to you all.”
The monarch concluded, “God bless you, darling Mama; you remain forever in our hearts and prayers.”
Charles recorded the video in early April in the library of Balmoral Castle in Scotland, the same royal residence where Elizabeth died in September 2022 at age 96.
Elizabeth is survived by Charles, daughter Princess Anne, 75, disgraced ex-prince Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, 66, and Prince Edward, 62, as well as several grandchildren — including Princes William and Harry — and great-grandchildren.
