Shakespeare for the Queen’s 90th Birthday

In honour of Her Majesty’s 90th birthday, the Prince of Wales chose a selection from Shakespeare to commemorate the occasion. The passage was taken from Henry VIII and presented this morning on the BBC.

The reading from act 5, scene 5 (edited) begins: “Let me speak, sir.

For heaven now bids me; and the words I utter

Let none think flattery, for they’ll find ’em truth”.

It ends:

“She shall be, to the happiness of England,

An aged princess; many days shall see her,

And yet no day without a deed to crown it”

The extract is from a speech by Archbishop Thomas Cranmer to King Henry VIII after the birth of the future Queen Elizabeth I.  In consultation with Greg Doran, the artistic director of the Royal Shakespeare Company, Prince Charles  chose and read the selection for both the birthday celebrations and the 400th anniversary of death of William Shakespeare.