Speech made by The Queen during the Italian State Banquet

Speech made in Guernsey

Mr. Bailiff,

Thank you for your welcome on behalf of the People of Guernsey and your expressions of loyalty and affection.

Prince Philip and I are happy to be in Guernsey on this sixtieth anniversary of liberation and to have joined in the Service of Thanksgiving. We were pleased to have the opportunity of meeting some of those who were liberated, evacuated or deported, and those who served in the Armed Forces of the Crown and were involved in the Island's liberation.

On my five previous visits to the Bailiwick I have seen how you have put behind you the dark days of enemy occupation and, maintaining your ancient privileges, have developed your institutions to bring peace and prosperity to these Islands. On this very special occasion I send my warmest good wishes to you all.

Speech made in Jersey

Mr. Bailiff,

I thank you all for the warm welcome you have given Prince Philip and me on this special day for the Channel Islands. I am pleased that so many people are present today for whom the 9th of May has such a personal significance. Many of you have vivid recollections of the celebrations in this very place sixty years ago; others have different memories, of evacuation before the Occupation, of deportation during the war, or of volunteering with courage to serve in the armed forces. None of us, young or old, should allow ourselves to forget the sacrifices and the suffering of those long years, but I think all of us can be heartened by the efforts which have been made in recent times to promote reconciliation, tolerance and forgiveness, symbolised in the short drama we have just enjoyed.

Last year you celebrated the eight hundredth anniversary of Jersey's connections with the Crown. Those links have been tested over the centuries, and never more so than during the Occupation. I recall how impressed I was, when I first visited the Island after the war in 1949, to discover how quickly you were putting those times behind you, and I am pleased to see how the special privileges and autonomy granted to the Island by the Crown so many centuries ago have formed the basis of the successful Island in which you live today.

Mr Bailiff, I am delighted to be able to join you for these celebrations. May I express the hope that your freedom which you are celebrating today will continue to inspire you in the years ahead and I send to you all my warmest good wishes for the future.

The Unofficial British Royal Family Pages

The Queen's Speeches in Guernsey and Jersey, 9 & 10 May 2005