“Do you know where Churchill made this statement? ‘Here is a law which is above the King which even he must not break. This reaffirmation of a supreme law and its expression in a general charter is the great work of Magna Carta; and this alone justifies the respect in which men have held it.'” —J.F., Phoenix, Ariz.

A: The Birth of Britain, 1956

His “Above the King” quotation occurs in Churchill’s History of the English-Speaking Peoples, vol. 1, The Birth of Britain (London: Cassell, 1956), 256-57. He was explaining Magna Carta, the Great Charter of Freedoms, one of the towering benchmarks of Western Civilization. Churchill wrote:

If the thirteenth-century magnates understood little and cared less for popular liberties or Parliamentary democracy, they had all the same laid hold of a principle which was to be of prime importance for the future development of English society and English institutions.

Throughout the document it is implied that here is a law which is above the King and which even he must not break. This reaffirmation of a supreme law and its expression in a general charter is the great work of Magna Carta; and this alone justifies the respect in which men have held it.

The reign of Henry II, according to the most respected authorities, initiates the rule of law. But the work as yet was incomplete: the Crown was still above the law; the legal system which Henry had created could become, as John showed, an instrument of oppression.

Q: “All will be well”: repeated remark or one-off?

“Churchill had a famous phrase, ‘All will be well.’ Was this a one-time appearance or an habitual expression?”

A: Habitual. Thank the Boers

Although not exclusive to Churchill by any means, “all will be well” was a very frequent expression. In South Africa in 1899-1900, the young Winston had picked up the Afrikaans phrase alles sal regkom—which translates “all will come right.” He used both “all will come right” and “all will be well” interchangeably because they expressed his sentiment. As he said at least once: “For myself I am an optimist—it does not seem to be much use being anything else…” (Guildhall, London, 9 November 1954, Churchill by Himself, 10.)

There are a half dozen instances of “all will be well” in my quotations book and many scores in his speeches. For example: “…live dangerously; take things as they come; dread naught, all will be well.” (1932, Churchill by Himself, 20.)

The most famous use of the phrase was on 9 February 1941 in Churchill’s broadcast reply to Roosevelt, who had sent him the Longfellow poem, “Sail on, O Ship of State”:

What is the answer that I shall give, in your name, to this great man, the thrice-chosen head of a nation of a hundred and thirty millions? Here is the answer which I will give to President Roosevelt: “Put your confidence in us. Give us your faith and your blessing, and, under Providence, all will be well. We shall not fail or falter; we shall not weaken or tire. Neither the sudden shock of battle, nor the long-drawn trials of vigilance and exertion will wear us down. Give us the tools, and we will finish the job.” (Churchill by Himself, 6-7.)

In those days, a lot of people thought Churchill was whistling in the wind. And so did he on occasion–privately, of course–up until Pearl Harbor. From then on, he had no doubt about victory.

Related reading

“Churchill Quotations: Youth, Maturity, Principle, Regulations,” 2023.

“Quotations: The Best Telegram He Ever Sent,” 2023.

“Churchill Quotations: The Artist, The Invalid and the Sybarite,” 2022.

“The Biblical Churchill: His Largest Single Source of Quotations,” 2021.

Quotations Department, since 2009.

“The Third Great Title-Deed of Anglo-American Liberties”

Winston S. Churchill, Liberty Day Meeting, Central Hall, Westminster, July 4, 1918. Excerpted from Robert Rhodes James, Winston S. Churchill: His Complete Speeches 1897-1963, 8 vols. (New York: Bowker, 1974), III 2613-16.

I move that the following resolution be cabled from the meeting as a greeting to the President and people of the United States of America: This meeting of the Anglo-Saxon Fellowship assembled in London on the 4th of July, 1918, sends to the President and people of the United States their heartfelt greetings on the 142nd anniversary of the Declaration of American Independence. They rejoice that the love of liberty and justice on which the American nation was founded should in the present time of trial have united the whole English-speaking family in a brotherhood of arms.

We are met here to-day at Westminster to celebrate the national festival of the American people and the 142nd anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. We are met here also as brothers-in-arms facing for a righteous cause grave injuries and perils and passing through times of exceptional anxiety and suffering. We therefore seek to draw from the past history of our race inspiration and comfort to cheer our hearts and fortify and purify our resolution and our comradeship.

A great harmony exists between the spirit and language of the Declaration of Independence and all we are fighting for now. A similar harmony exists between the principles of that Declaration and all that the British people have wished to stand for, and have in fact achieved at last both here at home and in the self-governing Dominions of the Crown.

The Declaration of Independence is not only an American document. It follows on Magna Carta and the Bill of Rights as the third great title-deed on which the liberties of the English-speaking people are founded. By it we lost an Empire, but by it we also preserved an Empire. By applying its principles and learning its lesson we have maintained our communion with the powerful Commonwealths our children have established beyond the seas.

Wherever men seek to frame politics or constitutions which safeguard the citizen, be he rich or poor, on the one hand from the shame of despotism, on the other from the miseries of anarchy, which combine personal freedom with respect for law and love of country, it is to the inspiration which originally sprang from the English soil and from the Anglo-Saxon mind that they will inevitably recur. We therefore join in perfect sincerity and simplicity with our American kith and kin in celebrating the auspicious and glorious anniversary of their nationhood.