The Crown: Princess Elizabeth's 21st Birthday Speech (1947) | British Pathé — Transcript

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1. 0:0721st birthday I welcome the opportunity
2. 0:11to speak to all the peoples of the
3. 0:13British Commonwealth and Empire wherever
4. 0:15they live whatever race they come from
5. 0:19and whatever language they
6. 0:21speak let me Begin by saying thank you
7. 0:25to all the thousands of kind people who
8. 0:28have sent me messages of good
9. 0:31will this is a happy day for me but it
10. 0:34is also one that brings serious thoughts
11. 0:38thoughts of Life looming ahead with all
12. 0:41its challenges and with all its
13. 0:45opportunity at such a time it is a great
14. 0:48help to know that there are multitudes
15. 0:51of friends all around the world who are
16. 0:54thinking of me and who wish me well I am
17. 0:58grateful and I am deep she
18. 1:06moved as I speak to you today from Cape
19. 1:09Town I am 6,000 miles from the country
20. 1:13where I was
21. 1:14born but I am certainly not 6,000 miles
22. 1:18from
23. 1:18home everywhere I have traveled in these
24. 1:22lovely lands of South Africa and
25. 1:24redia my parents my sister and I have
26. 1:28been taken to the heart of their people
27. 1:31and made to feel that we are just as
28. 1:34much at home here as if we had lived
29. 1:36among them all our
30. 1:39lives that is the great privilege
31. 1:41belonging to our place in the worldwide
32. 1:45Commonwealth that there are homes ready
33. 1:47to welcome Us in every continent of the
34. 1:50earth before I am much older I hope I
35. 1:54shall come to know many of
36. 1:57them although there is n of my father's
37. 2:00subjects from the oldest to the youngest
38. 2:03whom I do not wish to
39. 2:05greet I am thinking especially today of
40. 2:09all the young men and women who were
41. 2:11born about the same time as myself and
42. 2:14have grown up like me in terrible and
43. 2:17glorious years of the second world
44. 2:22war will you the Youth of the British
45. 2:25family of
46. 2:26Nations let me speak on my birthday as
47. 2:29your
48. 2:31representative now that we are coming to
49. 2:34manhood and Womanhood it is surely a
50. 2:37great joy to us all to think that we
51. 2:40shall be able to take some of the burden
52. 2:42off the shoulders of our elders who have
53. 2:45fought and worked and suffered to
54. 2:48protect our
55. 2:55childhood we must not be daunted
56. 3:06we must not be daunted by the anxieties
57. 3:09and hardships that the war has left
58. 3:11behind for every nation of our
59. 3:14Commonwealth we know that these things
60. 3:17are the price we cheerfully undertook to
61. 3:19pay for the high honor of standing alone
62. 3:227even years ago in defense of the
63. 3:24liberty of the world let us say with
64. 3:27ruper Brook now God we thank who has
65. 3:30matched us with his
66. 3:32are I am sure that you will see our
67. 3:35difficulties in like that I see them as
68. 3:38the great opportunity for you and
69. 3:41me most of you have read in the history
70. 3:43books The Proud saying of William pit
71. 3:47that England had saved herself by her
72. 3:49exertions and would save Europe by her
73. 3:53example but in our time we may say that
74. 3:56the British Empire has saved the world
75. 3:59first
76. 4:00and has now to save itself after the
77. 4:03battle is
78. 4:04won I think that is an even finer thing
79. 4:08than was done in the days of
80. 4:10pit and it is for us who have grown up
81. 4:13in these years of danger and glory to
82. 4:16see that it is accomplished in the long
83. 4:18years of peace that we all hope stretch
84. 4:23ahead if we all go forward together with
85. 4:26an unwavering Faith a high courage and a
86. 4:30quiet heart we shall be able to make of
87. 4:33this ancient Commonwealth which we all
88. 4:35love so dearly an even grander thing
89. 4:39more free more prosperous more happy and
90. 4:43a more powerful influence for good in
91. 4:45the world than it has been in the
92. 4:48greatest days of our
93. 4:51forefathers to accomplish that we must
94. 4:54give nothing less than the whole of
95. 4:57ourselves there is a motto which has
96. 4:59been born by many of my ancestors a
97. 5:02noble motto I
98. 5:05serve those words were an inspiration to
99. 5:09many bygone HS to the throne when they
100. 5:12made their nightly dedication as they
101. 5:14came to
102. 5:16manhood I cannot quite do as they
103. 5:27did but through the invention of science
104. 5:31I can do what was not possible for any
105. 5:33of
106. 5:34them I can make my solemn Act of
107. 5:37dedication with a whole empire
108. 5:40listening I should like to make that
109. 5:42dedication now it is very
110. 5:45simple I declare before you all that my
111. 5:49whole life whether it be long or short
112. 5:53shall be diverted to your service and to
113. 5:56the service of our great Imperial family
114. 5:59to which we we all
115. 6:00belong but I shall not have strength to
116. 6:03carry out this resolution alone unless
117. 6:07you join in it with me as I now invite
118. 6:10you to
119. 6:11do I know that your support will be
120. 6:13unfailingly
121. 6:15given God help me to make good My
122. 6:18Vow and God bless all of you who are
123. 6:22willing to share in it
124. 6:33but through the inventions of ss I can
125. 6:36do what was not possible for any of
126. 6:39them I can make my solemn Act of
127. 6:42dedication with a whole empire
128. 6:45listening I should like to make that
129. 6:48dedication now it is very
130. 6:51simple I declare before you all that my
131. 6:55whole life whether it be long or short
132. 6:59shall be devoted to your
133. 7:01service and to the service of our great
134. 7:04Imperial family to which we all
135. 7:08belong but I shall not have strength to
136. 7:11carry out this resolution alone unless
137. 7:14you join in it with me as I now invite
138. 7:17you to
139. 7:18do I know that your support will be
140. 7:21unfailingly
141. 7:23given go