There is one thing higher than Royalty: and that is religion

“There is one thing higher than Royalty: and that is religion, which causes us to leave the world, and seek God.” — so spoke Queen Elizabeth I, the Virgin Queen of England, whose words shimmer with humility and divine insight, spoken from the throne of power itself. Here, in this declaration, the queen lifts her crown not as a symbol of supremacy, but as an offering to something greater. She reveals a truth as old as kingship and as eternal as faith: that all earthly authority bows before the divine, and that the heart, however exalted in station, finds its highest honor not in ruling men, but in seeking God.

The origin of this quote belongs to the reign of Elizabeth I, the daughter of Henry VIII and one of history’s most formidable sovereigns. She ruled a fractured realm, torn by the wars of faith between Catholic and Protestant, where the throne itself trembled beneath the weight of spiritual division. Yet Elizabeth, wise beyond her years, sought balance between zeal and peace. In a world that worshiped power and bloodline, she dared to proclaim that the soul’s duty is higher than the crown’s, that no scepter or jewel could compare to the radiance of divine truth. These words did not spring from mere ceremony — they were the utterance of a monarch who had tasted both the glory and the loneliness of rule, and who knew that every empire fades, but God endures.

In this statement, Elizabeth teaches that true majesty lies in humility before the eternal. The splendor of royalty dazzles the eye but fades with time; the splendor of faith illuminates the soul and lasts forever. A queen may command armies and conquer lands, yet even she must kneel before the mystery of life and death, before the silence of the divine. To “leave the world and seek God” is not to abandon duty, but to rise above vanity — to see beyond the illusions of wealth, rank, and fame, and to remember that the crown upon the head is but a shadow of the crown of spirit.

History is rich with the proof of her words. Consider Emperor Marcus Aurelius, ruler of Rome at its height. He wore the purple robe of the Caesars, but he also carried a philosopher’s soul. Amidst the grandeur of his empire, he wrote in his Meditations: “All is fleeting — the noise of fame, the glitter of gold, the applause of men.” Like Elizabeth, he understood that power without virtue is emptiness, and that greatness unanchored in truth is dust. Both monarchs, though separated by time and creed, found the same revelation — that the highest throne is within the heart, and its only true ruler is conscience and faith.

Elizabeth’s wisdom shines brightest when contrasted with the temptations that surrounded her. She reigned in an age when rulers believed themselves divinely appointed and untouchable, yet she declared that even royalty must yield to the divine will. This was not weakness — it was spiritual strength. For to rule others is easy; to rule oneself, under God, is the mark of true sovereignty. Her words remind all who hold power — whether over nations, or merely over their own lives — that authority without reverence breeds arrogance, and that no title, however exalted, can absolve the soul of its need for grace.

But beyond crowns and kingdoms, Elizabeth’s insight belongs to every soul that struggles between the demands of the world and the call of the spirit. Each of us, in our own way, sits upon a little throne — of ambition, of pride, of self. Yet the moment we seek what is higher than ourselves — when we turn from the noise of the world to the stillness of faith — we discover what even a queen understood: that peace cannot be commanded, it must be received; and the presence of God is worth more than all the gold of empires.

Therefore, my child, learn from the Queen who bowed before Heaven. Seek not the glitter of the world, but the glow of the eternal. If fortune crowns you, wear it lightly; if hardship humbles you, bear it nobly. Remember that all power, whether great or small, is lent, not owned — and that all glory is hollow unless it serves a higher truth. Let your heart be your temple, your integrity your crown, and your compassion your scepter. For one day, all titles will be forgotten, and all thrones will crumble into dust — but the soul that has sought God will stand forever, radiant in its own eternal royalty.

And thus, as Elizabeth I declared, “There is one thing higher than Royalty” — not riches, not glory, not even the memory of great deeds — but Religion, not in its outward form, but in its inner light: the quiet, steadfast turning of the soul toward the divine. For in seeking God, we ascend above kings and crowns, above time and death — and in that seeking, we find the only kingdom that never falls.