Benjamin Disraeli Quotes
I never deny; I never contradict; I sometimes forget.
1st Earl of Beaconsfield. At the time the Queen was not just a figurehead. She made most of the major appointments and had to approve of and sign many documents. In addition, she as the head of state met with foreign royalty and foreign diplomats. She would tell the Prime Minister of policies she wanted made and even how military strategy was to be handled. Although she had much power, she rarely used it and instead relied on her ability to persuade the Prime Ministers and other members of the Government. Disraeli and opposition leader Gladstone exchanged roles as the voters flip flopped between the two parties. Queen Victoria loved working with Disraeli and their meetings, but hated doing so with Gladstone. See {629314}.
Benjamin Disraeli, 1804-1881, British Prime Minister (Tory), His principles of briefing the Queen on the administration and politics of the nation, Quoted in William Flavelle Monypenny and George Earle Buckle, The life of Benjamin Disraeli, Earl of Beaconsfield
Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations
Note that the Queen always used the 3rd person rather than the 1st when referring to herself. This was true of most of the leading public figures in England at the time. Although she detested Gladstone, she gained control of her feelings and did her duty and “sent for” him to form the Government. She was personally delighted when, as she predicted, his government then had political difficulties.
Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield, KG, PC, MP, FRS, was twice Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, serving in 1868 and from 1874 to 1880. He was a member of the British Conservative Party and played a central role in the creation of the modern Party, defining its policies and its broad outreach. Disraeli is remembered for his influential voice in world affairs, his political battles with the Liberal Party leader William Ewart Gladstone, and his one-nation conservatism or "Tory democracy". He made the Conservatives the party most identified with the glory and power of the British Empire. He is the only British prime minister to have been of Jewish birth. He was also a novelist, publishing works of fiction even as prime minister.
