Kate Williams Quotes

Kenya has deep resonances for the royals: it was here, after all, that the young Princess Elizabeth heard of the death of her father, George VI. From that moment, she was Queen.

I've written extensively on Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth and seen up close how those women, who were born when the country hoped for a male heir, made their way as leaders.

Most of what I knew of George VI was from watching 'The King's Speech!'

My wife and I have always been Anglophiles. We always felt we were born in another life in England. I was in the Elizabethan era, and she was from the Norman conquest.

I love the Royal Family and every aspect of Britain and what we have achieved in history.

I think the Queen enjoyed my book on her father, George VI.

Queen Victoria, one of our more frumpy Queen's. They're all frumpy aren't they? Because it's a bad idea when cousin's marry.

What can they see in the longest kingly line in Europe, save that it runs back to a successful soldier?

I'm not from around these parts. I'm from a little place called England: we used to run the world before you.

I was happy to be in England, because my mother had always loved the royals, and so do I.

My entire act is through and through British. I reference everything British.

It's unimaginable to meet a Pole or a German who does not know about the history of their country. But lots of English people don't know the difference between Britain and England.

Mrs Thatcher not only made history by becoming Britain's first female prime minister, she was the first woman to hold any comparable position in the western world.

The links between the British and the Dutch royal families are strong - Queen Beatrix's grandmother, Queen Wilhelmina, was evacuated to Britain during the Second World War. But that doesn't mean they share the same attitudes.

I'm obsessed with historical English royalty.

Before filming 'The Crown,' I couldn't care less about the royal family. But now... I'm obsessed.

I've always liked England.

I'm a proud Brit and a proud Englishman.

When I was in high school, I looked for the black presence in a British historical tradition - before too much slavery and empire - that would not cost me my self-respect.

The motivations of kings in British history can generally be reduced to two: the quest for territory and the search for a male heir. No king was secure on his throne until he had a son, and no queen consort was ever really safe without a boy.

Here in Britain, we can get a little bit snobby about American history. Yes, their history is not quite as long as ours. But it isn't all that short, either.

Anglo-Saxon kings often used to favour their sister's son to their own - for at least you could guarantee there was your own blood in your sister's son!

I don't think the monarchy is tawdry in the slightest. I think the monarchy is hugely important for Britain.

Britain has had some very strong and successful queens throughout history, but, since the Act of Succession in 1701, they have only been eligible to take the throne if they had no brothers. If there was a boy in the family, no matter where he came in the order of birth, he leapfrogged his sisters to take the title.

I like English spirit.