First Quote Added
April 10, 2026
Latest Quote Added
"I suddenly feel a great deal better."
"I am 81 years of age. I've had nine children and 42 grandchildren, and have almost a billion citizens. I have rheumatism, a collapsed uterus, I'm morbidly obese and deaf in one ear. I have known 11 Prime Ministers and passed 2,347 pieces of legislation. I've been in office 62 years, 234 days. Thus, I am the longest-serving monarch in world history. I'm responsible for five households and a staff of over 3,000. I am cantankerous, boring, greedy, fat, ill-tempered, at times selfish and myopic, both metaphorically and literally. I am perhaps disagreeably attached to power and should not have smashed the Emperor of Russia's egg. But I am anything but insane. If the household wish to disobey me, so be it. Let them do it to my face. I will see everyone in the Durbar Room at once."
"[speaking to her family and the entire household in the Durbar Room] I understand there is some concern over my desires on preferment. I understand feelings have run high, and I understand you have decided to resign rather than withstand my decision. If any one of you wishes to tender their resignation? It will be accepted, without any unfortunate consequences. But at least have the decency to do it to my face! Anyone wishing to resign, please step forward. [silence] I would like to inform you that I have decided against awarding any knighthoods at this moment. Instead, you'll be delighted to know that I have decided to make the Munshi a Commander of the Royal Victorian Order, as a special token of my personal esteem for his services to the Empire. That is all."
"Listen, little drop, give yourself up without regret and in return you will gain the ocean. Give yourself away and in the great sea you will be secure."
"[last lines of the movie] Good morning, Your Majesty. How are you today?"
"[scheduling the timetable for Queen Victoria's jubilee] Jubilee celebrations. 9:00, breakfast in London. Quarter to 10:00, changing of the guard. 11:00, meeting with the Swedish Ambassador. 12:00, luncheon with Oscar II, King of Sweden and Norway, the Norwegian Ambassador, the Chief Under-Secretary of State for the Southern Norwegian Provinces, the Junior Under-Secretary of State for the Northern Norwegian Provinces. 2:00, ceremonial drive down the Mall. Half past 2:00, tea party at Hyde Park for 30,000 children. Half past 4:00, Household departs on the Royal train for Windsor. Half past 6:00, dinner in the Great Hall and the ceremonial presentation of a Mohur."
"Judi Dench as Queen Victoria"
"Ali Fazal as Abdul Karim"
"Tim Pigott-Smith as Henry Ponsonby"
"Eddie Izzard as Albert Edward, Prince of Wales ("Bertie")"
"Adeel Akhtar as Mohammad Bakhsh"
"Michael Gambon as Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury"
"Paul Higgins as Sir James Reid, 1st Baronet"
"Olivia Williams as Jane Spencer, Baroness Churchill"
"Fenella Woolgar as Harriet Phipps"
"Julian Wadham as Alick Yorke"
"Robin Soans as Arthur Bigge, 1st Baron Stamfordham"
"Simon Callow as Giacomo Puccini"
"Simon Paisley Day as Mr Tyler"
"Amani Zardoe as Princess Helena of the United Kingdom"
"Sophie Trott as Sophia of Prussia"
"Penny Ryder as Sophie of the Netherlands"
"Joe Caffrey as Sous Chef"
"Tim McMullan as Tailor"
"Jonathan Harden as Wilhelm II, German Emperor"
"John Rowe as Head Waiter"
Young though he was, his radiant energy produced such an impression of absolute reliability that Hedgewar made him the first sarkaryavah, or general secretary, of the RSS.
- Gopal Mukund Huddar
Largely because of the influence of communists in London, Huddar's conversion into an enthusiastic supporter of the fight against fascism was quick and smooth. The ease with which he crossed from one worldview to another betrays the fact that he had not properly understood the world he had grown in.
Huddar would have been 101 now had he been alive. But then centenaries are not celebrated only to register how old so and so would have been and when. They are usually celebrated to explore how much poorer our lives are without them. Maharashtrian public life is poorer without him. It is poorer for not having made the effort to recall an extraordinary life.
I regret I was not there to listen to Balaji Huddar's speech [...] No matter how many times you listen to him, his speeches are so delightful that you feel like listening to them again and again.
By the time he came out of Franco's prison, Huddar had relinquished many of his old ideas. He displayed a worldview completely different from that of the RSS, even though he continued to remain deferential to Hedgewar and maintained a personal relationship with him.