I am every day more convinced that we women, if we are to be good women, feminine and amiable and domestic, are not fitted to reign; at least it is they that drive themselves to the work which it entails.
—Queen Victoria (1819–1901) British Royal
Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help.
—The Holy Bible Scripture in the Christian Faith
If you shoot at a king you must kill him.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–82) American Philosopher
Kings have many ears and eyes.
—Common Proverb
Everyone likes flattery; and when you come to Royalty you should lay it on with a trowel.
—Benjamin Franklin (1706–90) American Political Leader, Inventor, Diplomat
There is no necessity to separate the monarch from the mob; all authority is equally bad.
—Oscar Wilde (1854–1900) Irish Poet, Playwright
The foremost art of kings is the ability to endure hatred.
—Seneca the Younger (Lucius Annaeus Seneca) (c.4 BCE–65 CE) Roman Stoic Philosopher, Statesman, Tragedian
They say that kings are made in the image of God. If that is what he looks like, I feel sorry for God.
—Frederick II of Prussia (1712–86) King of Prussia, Military Strategist
All I say is, kings is kings, and you got to make allowances. Take them all around, they’re a mighty ornery lot. It’s the way they’re raised.
—Mark Twain (1835–1910) American Humorist
Vulgarity in a king flatters the majority of the nation.
—George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950) Irish Playwright
The Sovereign has, under a constitutional monarchy such as ours, three rights—the right to be consulted, the right to encourage, the right to warn. And a king of great sense and sagacity would want no others.
—Walter Bagehot (1826–77) English Economist, Journalist
Call me Diana, not Princess Diana.
—Diana, Princess of Wales (1961–97) English Royal, Humanitarian, Peace Activist
There is no king who has not had a slave among his ancestors, and no slave who has not had a king among his.
—Helen Keller (1880–1968) American Author
If your job is to leaven ordinary lives with elevating spectacle, be elevating or be gone.
—George Will (b.1941) American Columnist, Author, Commentator
Though God hath raised me high, yet this I count the glory of my crown: that I have reigned with your loves. And though you have had, and may have, many mightier and wiser princes sitting in this seat; yet you never had, nor shall have any that will love you better.
—Queen Elizabeth I (1533–1603) British Monarch
Divine right of kings means the divine right of anyone who can get uppermost.
—Herbert Spencer (1820–1903) English Polymath, Philosopher, Political/Social Theorist
Kings govern by popular assemblies only when they cannot do without them.
—Charles James Fox (1749–1806) British Statesman, Whig Leader
A family on the throne is an interesting idea. It brings down the pride of sovereignty to the level of petty life.
—Walter Bagehot (1826–77) English Economist, Journalist
Princes give me sufficiently if they take nothing from me, and do me much good if they do me no hurt; it is all I require of them.
—Michel de Montaigne (1533–92) French Essayist
I have nothing against the Queen of England. Even in my heart I never resented her for not being Jackie Kennedy. She is, to my mind, a very gallant lady, victimized by whoever it is who designs the tops of her uniforms.
—Leonard Cohen (1934–2016) Canadian Singer, Songwriter, Poet, Novelist
The metaphor of the king as the shepherd of his people goes back to ancient Egypt. Perhaps the use of this particular convention is due to the fact that, being stupid, affectionate, gregarious, and easily stampeded, the societies formed by sheep are most like human ones.
—Northrop Frye
Kings, in this chiefly, should imitate God; their mercy should be above all their works.
—William Penn (1644–1718) American Entrepreneur, Philosopher, Political Leader
I’d like to be queen of people’s hearts.
—Diana, Princess of Wales (1961–97) English Royal, Humanitarian, Peace Activist
A king should die on his feet.
—Louis XVIII of France (1755–1824) King of France
Royalty is a government in which the attention of the nation is concentrated on one person doing interesting actions.
—Walter Bagehot (1826–77) English Economist, Journalist
Don’t forget your great guns, which are the most respectable arguments of the rights of kings.
—Frederick II of Prussia (1712–86) King of Prussia, Military Strategist
Like all the best families, we have our share of eccentricities, of impetuous and wayward youngsters and of family disagreements.
—Queen Elizabeth II (1926–2022) Queen of United Kingdom
A throne is only a bench covered with velvet.
—Napoleon I (1769–1821) Emperor of France
Kings are not born: they are made by artificial hallucination.
—George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950) Irish Playwright
What are kings, when regiment is gone, but perfect shadows in a sunshine day?
—Christopher Marlowe (1564–93) English Playwright, Poet, Translator
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