Transcripts For CSPAN House Of Commons Honors Late Queen Elizabeth II 20220910

Gathered in the house of commons to pay tribute to the late Queen Elizabeth ii. Order, order. I invite the house to rise and observe a minute of silence in memory of her late majesty Queen Elizabeth ii. Before i call the Prime Minister, it is with the greatest sadness that i rise to say a few words to her late majesty, Queen Elizabeth. Almost all of us in the house of experienced no other monarch but her late majesty. There indeed, only a score or so members of this house would have been born. That can recall a time when she wasnt the queen. She is what in our minds with the crown and all it stands for. After accession, in february 1952, she came to westminster to open a session of parliament in november 1952, when Winston Churchill was the Prime Minister and speaker william morrison, was in the chair, almost 70 years ago. 57 complete sessions of parliament passed since then, and as she was here to open all but three of them, as parliamentarians, we celebrated with her silver, golden, diamond jubilees, and the Platinum Jubilee this year, in which the length standards have been revealed. In this place, her reign saw 10 different speakers occupied. During her reign, the 18th there were 18 general elections. Im sure the Prime Minister will remind how many predecessors she welcomed, im always sure, with quiet wisdom. As the longestserving monarch this country has known, she would have been assured of a notable entry in the history books, even were it not for the magnificence in which she undertook the role as queen. Her magnificent service and what a service that entailed, not just as head of the nation, but head of the commonwealth, head of the armed forces and supreme government of the church of england. Over her reign, she has seen unprecedented social, cultural, technological change. Through it all she was most conscientious and dutiful of monarchs. While she understood the nature of duty which sometimes must have weighed upon her heavily she also delighted, she was the most devoted monarch as well as queen, she was a wife, a mother, grandmother and greatgrandmother, roles she carried out with the same sense of vocation and kindness as the role of queen. Her life, memories of her will be filled with the image of a gently smiling, dedication, that is sure throughout her life. Indeed, while this is a time of considerable sadness, those memories of a noble, gracious lady who devoted life to her family, the United Kingdom, and those nations around the world who she served as queen will bring us some consolation and joy. My deepest sympathies are with his majesty the king and other members of the royal family to whom i commend all of our sincere condolences and support at this very, very sad time. Hear, hear. Order. We are meeting today for attributes to her late majesty, Queen Elizabeth. I would like to inform the house that we will sit today until approximately 10 00 p. M. For attributes. At approximately 6 00, the house will be suspended while his majesty the king makes his broadcast to the nation. Members present will be able to watch the broadcast on screens in the chamber. We will then resume our proceedings to continue with tributes. The house will then sit again tomorrow at 1 00. The First Business will be oath taking for small member of senior numbers. Members will be invited to take the oath tomorrow are being contacted by my office. All of the members will have an opportunity to take the oath when the house returns. After oath taking tomorrow, tributes will be continued. The house is expected to sit until approximately 10 00 pm. The house is not expected to sit on sunday. I now call the Prime Minister, elizabeth truss. P. M. Truss mr. Speaker, in the hours since last nights shocking news, we have witnessed the most heartfelt outpouring of grief for the loss of her late majesty, queen. Crowds have gathered, flags have been lowered to halfmast, tributes have been sent from every continent around the world. On the death of her father king george vi, Winston Churchill said the news had stilled the clatter and traffic of 20th century life in many lands. Now, 70 years later in the tumble of the 21st century, life has paused again. Her late majesty Queen Elizabeth ii was one of the greatest leaders the world has ever known. She was the rock on which modern britain was built. She came to the throne at just 25 in a country that was emerging from the shadow of war. She bequeathed a modern dynamic nation that has grown and flourished under her reign. The United Kingdom is the great country it is today because of her. The commonwealth is the family of nations it is today, because of her. She was devoted to the union of england, scotland, wales and Northern Ireland. She served 15 countries as head of state and loved them all. Her words of wisdom gave her strength in the most testing times. During the darkest moments of the pandemic, she gave us hope that we would meet again. She knew this generation of britons would be as strong as any. As we meet today, we remember the pledge she made on her 21st birthday to dedicate her life to service. The whole house will agree, never has a promise been so completely fulfilled. Her devotion to duty remains an example to us all. She carried out thousands of engagements, she took a red box every day, she gave her assent to countless people with pieces of legislation, and was at the heart of our National Life for seven decades. The supreme governor of the church of england, she drew on her deep faith. She was the nations greatest diplomat. Her visits to postapartheid south africa and the republic of ireland showed a unique ability to transcend difference and heal division. In total, she visited well over 100 countries. She met more people than any other monarch in our history,. She gave counsel to Prime Ministers and ministers across government. I have personally greatly valued her wise advice. Only last october, witnessed firsthand how she charmed the worlds leading investors at Windsor Castle. She was always so proud of britain and always embodied the spirit of our great country. She remained determined to carry out her duty even at the age of 96. It was just three days ago at bell moral that she invited me to form a government and become her 15th Prime Minister. Again, she generously shared with me her experience in government, even in those last days. Everyone who met her will remember the moment, they will speak of it for the rest of their lives. Even those who never met her, her late majestys image is an item of what britain stands for as a nation, on our coins, and our stamps and in portraits around the world. Her legacy will endure through the countless people she met. The global history she witnessed and the lives she touched. She was loved and admired by people across the United Kingdom and across the world. One of the reasons was her sheer humanity. She reinvented monarchy for the modern age. She was a champion of freedom and democracy around the world. She was dignified, but not distant. She was willing to have fun, whether on a mission with 007 or having tea with Paddington Bear. She brought the monarchy into peoples lives and into peoples homes. During her first televised christmas message in 1957, she said, today, we need a special kind of courage so we can show the world we are not afraid of the future. We need that courage now. In an instant yesterday, our lives changed forever. Today, we show the world that we do not fear what lies ahead. We send our deepest sympathy to all members of the royal family. We pay tribute to our late queen and we offer Loyal Service to our new king. Hear, hear. P. M. Truss his majesty King Charles Iii has an awesome response ability he carries for all of us. I was grateful to speak to his majesty last night and offer my condolences. Even as he mourns, his sense of duty and service is clear. He has already made a profound contribution through his work on conservation, education and tireless diplomacy. We owe him our loyalty. And devotion. The british people, the commonwealth, and all of us in this house will support him as he takes our country forward to a new era of hope and progress. Our new carolian age. The crown endures. Our nation enters. In that spirit, i say, god save the king. [all saying god save the king] i now call the leader of the opposition. Thank you, mr. Speaker. Today, our country, our people, this house are united in mourning. Queen elizabeth ii was this great countrys greatest monarch and for the vast majority of us , it feels impossible to imagine a britain without her. All our thoughts are with her beloved family, our royal family, at this moment of profound grief. This is a deep and private loss for them. Yet it is one we all share because Queen Elizabeth created a special personal relationship with us all. That relationship was built on the attributes that define her reign. Her total commitment to service and duty. Her deep devotion to the mall country, the commonwealth, and the people she loved. In return for that, we loved her. And it is because of that great shared love that we grieve today. For the 70 glorious years of her reign, our queen was at the heart of this nations life. She did not simply reign over us. She lived alongside us. She shared in our hopes and our fears, our joy and our pain, our good times and our bad. Our queen played a crucial role as the thread between the history we cherish and the present we own. A reminder that our generational battle against the evil of fascism, the emergence of a new written after the rubble of the Second World War do not only belong to the past but are the inheritance of each and every one of us. A reminder that the creativity, the hard work, the enterprise that has always defined this nation is as abundant now as it ever was. A reminder that the prospect of a Better Future still burns brightly. Never was this link more important than when our country was plunged into lockdown at the a reminder the creativity, the hard work, the enterprise that has always defined this nation is as abundant now as it ever was. A reminder that the prospect of a Better Future still burns brightly. Never was this link more important than when our country was plunged into lockdown at the start of the pandemic. Her simple message when they needed it most. But it wasnt simply the message that allow the shaken nation to draw upon those reserves. It was the fact that she was the messenger. Covid closed the front doors of every home in the country, made our lives smaller and more remote but she was able to reach beyond that, to reassure us the time we were most alone, a time we had turned driven apart, she held the nation close in a way no one else could have done. For that, we say thank you. On the occasion of the jubilee in 1977, in times when nothing stood but strain there was one constant. Good she did not change. It feels like we are once again in a moment in our history where things are growing strange. Where everything is spinning, a nation requires a still point. When times are difficult it requires comfort. When direction is hard to find it requires leadership. The loss of our queen robs this country of its stillest point, its greatest comfort at precisely the time we need those things most. But our queens commitment to us, her life of Public Service was underpinned by one crucial understanding, that the country she came to symbolize is bigger than any one individual or any one institution. It is the sum total of all our history and all our endeavors and it will endure. The late queen would have wanted us to redouble our efforts, to turn our caller up King Charles Iii king charles collar up and face the storm, to carry on. Most of all, she would want us to remember it was in these moments that we must pull together. This house is a place where ideas and ideals are debated. Of course that leads to passionate disagreement, of course temperatures can run high but we all do it, are in pursuit of something greater. We do it because we believe we can make this great country and its people greater still. At this moment of uncertainty where our country feels caught between a part it cannot really Better Future yet to be revealed we must always remember one of the great lessons of our queens reign, that we are always better when we rise above the petty, the trivial, the daytoday, to focus on the things that really matter, the things that unite us rather than those that divide us. Our elizabethan age may now be over, but her legacy will live on forever. And as the children of that era it falls upon us to take that legacy forward, to show the same love of country, the love of one another as she did, to show empathy and compassion as she did and to get britain through this dark night and bring it into the dawn, as she did. We join together today not just to say goodbye to our queen, to share in our morning, but to Say Something else important. God save the king, because as one era ends, so another begins. King charles iii has been a devoted servant of this country his entire life. He has been a powerful voice for fairness, and understood the importance environment before many others. He ascends to his new role with the queen consort by his side, the whole house, the whole country will join to wish him a long, happy, and successful reign. Mister speaker, the emotions we see across the nation today are echoed across the commonwealth to which our queen was so committed. In the church to which our queen was so devoted, in the armed forces which she led and her family served. Around the world People United and united in celebrating her life, weve already seen beautiful tributes flow from across the world, impossible to capture them all here. Each one is a reminder of the esteem in which she was held, of what she achieved on behalf of her country, of the shared values we treasure. The reason our loss feels so profound is not just because she stood as head of our country for 70 years, but because, in spirit, she stood amongst us. As we move forward, as we forge a new path, as we build towards a better country she will always be with us. All she gave us and all she will continue to give us, we say thank you. May our queen rest in peace, god save the king. Constituents will wish me weekly to record their love and respect to her late majesty. We continue to give life to her values and virtues, kindness, aspirations, perseverance and pride. We thank her, we miss her , and we say what she would wish, god save the king. I now call on the leader of s p, ian blackburn. Thank you. It is with Great Sadness that we unite to offer our prayers, focus our sorrow and govern our collective thoughts on the passing of her majesty the queen. I would like to offer my condolences as we hold the queen in our thoughts and prayers in this difficult time. The grief and mourning which reverberates around this chamber and across the world is all the more acute with members of the royal family. Only they can understand the deep personal loss of a close Family Member and people across society who lost loved ones, who understand the pain they must file us we extend our heartfelt condolences with them today. Over the coming days people up and down these islands will seek to come to terms in their own private way the loss way with the loss of one of the true constants in our life. Lives. In that regard my thoughts are with the Prime Minister who just came into office and having to come to terms with the loss and show the leadership now required in her position. And we dwell on the late queen who right to the end, fulfilled her duty, by appointing the new Prime Minister but many will feel this as a deeply personal loss, for the queens continuing abiding presence and her leadership that she has shown over 7 decades will be the enduring marker of the head of state. Her majesty the queen has been head of state for longer than most of us have been alive and the majority of us have never known a public life without the queen at the helm. For many she has been a steady hand guiding the ship, and a perpetual symbol. 15 prime symbol of stability. 15 Prime Ministers, five first ministers of scotland have benefited from her Institutional Knowledge and of course her wise counsel. As figurehead of the commonwealth she was the Unifying Force recognized the world over in 117 countries and was committed to celebrating the diverse cap values and cultures around the globe. All born out of a duty to serve. During her reign, through the good times and bad, through war and peace, boom and bust, through the advances in technology and communication at the dawn of the internet age, to many she was a Guiding Light ever present in the evolution of these islands into the modern era. A thread of continuity running to the fabric of the commonwealth, making new history. I, like many others in this chamber, was fortunate to meet the queen on a number of occasions and was always struck by the strength of the modesty, the humility and often the humor with which she approached her royal duties. And while i always met her in a professional context, im struck with how many people across scotland and the United Kingdom had a firsthand encounter with the queen. I had the pleasure to meet with her at many hundreds of events, including that of the Scottish Parliament, whether shes taken them by surprise with chance encounters in the countryside of villages, people the length and breadth of scotland with individual meetings with the queen. Because she was a monarch who reigned with compassion and integrity and established a deep connection to the public and the affection which the queen had for scotland and that scotland had for the queen not be underestimated. The queens first visit to scotland following her coronation of the General Assembly said to her today you and i are scotland, greeting with all we have to offer of modern duty. We can today look back on these words and say as long as her majesty reigned, she and scotland held held true to these values of duty for one another. When she reconvened the Scottish Parliament in 1999 her majesty so the obligation to set lasting standards of vision and purpose and debate and discussion not just for her own generation but future generations. And it is clear members across the Scottish Parliament in all walks of political life have that sense of vision and purpose in mind. There is a deeply held sense of responsibility across Political Parties to govern for the betterment of future generations. In our case to uphold the values of the Scottish Parliament which is described in the ceremonial days, wisdom, justice, compassion and integrity, the values that set the aspirations for modern scotland, the values that often embodied by her majesty herself. And what was, sadly, her final address to the Scottish Parliament was clear, when she said it is the people, there are a few places this is truer than it is in scotland. The relationship between scotland and the queen was one of sheer admiration. Indeed, while she was everyones queen, for many in scotland she was elizabeth, queen of scots. Her majestys routes in scotland roots in scotland run deep, she was defended from the royal house of stewards and her mother was around us. It is clear these family ties gave way to great and enduring affection and scotland was a place that was held dear to her not in an official capacity but a private capacity as well. It is wellknown in bulmer was the queens favorite world. It was a place where she was able to enjoy the ability to indulge in love the great outdoors, out walking with her dogs, riding horses, hosting picnics and barbecues, often behind the wheels of her land rover. It is clear that it was a place of peace and sanctuary throughout her whole life and following the death of her husband, life companion and love, his Royal Highness Prince Philip duke of edinburg. It is perhaps fitting that she has met her final piece there, a final piece peace a place where she found such enjoyment and comfort and someone of the monster. Strong faith, she will now have enduring peace, to be reunited with Prince Philip. Her majesty had a life of grace and wisdom, defined by service to the public and the lives she touched. Her legacy and her enduring presence will live on. God bless the queen, may she rest in peace, god bless the king. Boris johnson. Thank you. I hope the house will not mind if i begin with a personal confession. A few months ago the bbc came to see me to talk about her majesty the queen and we sat down and camera started rolling and they requested i should talk about her in the past tense. Im afraid i simply choked up and i couldnt go on. I am really not easily moved to tears but i was so overcome with sadness that i had to ask them to go away. And i know that today there are countless people in this country and around the world who have experienced the same sudden access to unexpected emotion. And i think millions of us are trying to understand why we are feeling this deep, personal, almost familial sense of loss. Perhaps it is partly that she has always been there, a changeless human Reference Point in british life. The person who appears most all the person say appears most often in our dreams. So unvarying in her radiance that we have been lulled into thinking she might be in some way eternal, but i think our shock is keener today because we necessary to lay down their lives. Think what we asked of her in that moment, not just to be the living embodiment in her dna, the history and continuity and unity of this country, but to be the figurehead of our entire system. The keystone in the vast arch of the british state, a role that only she could fulfill because in the brilliant and durable bargain of the Constitutional Monarchy, only she could be trusted to be above any party, political or commercial interests. And to incarnate, impartiality, the very concept and essence of the nation. Think what we asked of her and think what she gave. She showed the world not just how to reign over a people, she showed the world how to give, how to love and how to serve. And as we look back at that vast arc of service, the sheer duration is almost impossible to take in. She was the last living person in British Public life to have served in uniform and the in the Second World War. She was the first female member of the royal family and a thousand years to serve fulltime in the armed forces, and that impulse to do her duty, carried her right through into her 10th decade to the very moment only three days ago when she saw off her 14th Prime Minister and welcomed her 15th and i can tell you in that audience she was as radiant and as knowledgeable and is fascinated by politics as ever i like him i can remember. And as wise in her advice as any anyone i know if not wiser. Over that extraordinary span of Public Service, with her inquiring mind, doubtless many would agree that she became the greatest statesmen and diplomat of all. And she knew instinctively how to cheer up the nation, how to lead a celebration. I remember, her innocent joy more than 10 years ago after the Opening Ceremony of the london olympics when i told her the leader of a friendly middle eastern country seemed actually to believe she had jumped out of a helicopter, [laughter] in a pink dress, and parachuted into the stadium. And i remember her equal pleasure on being told just a few weeks ago that she had been a smash hit in a performance with Paddington Bear and perhaps more importantly, she knew how to keep us going, when times were toughest. In 1940, when this country and this democracy faced the real possibility of extinction she gave a broadcast, aged only 14 that was intended to reassure the children of britain. She said then, we know, every one of us that in the end all will be well. She was right and she was right again in the darkest days of the pandemic the covid pandemic when she came on screen and told us we would meet again and we did. I speak for other Prime Ministers when i say she helped to comfort and guide us as well as the nation because she had the patience and the sense of history to see the troubles come and go, and disasters are seldom as bad as they seem and it was that indomitable ability, that best indomitable ability that humor, that work ethic, that sense of history which together made her elizabeth the great. When i call her that, i should add one final quality. And that is her humility, her single bar elected fire, using refusal to be grand and unlike us politicians with our outriders and armor plated convoys, i can tell you as a direct eyewitness that she drove herself in her own car with no detectives and no bodyguards. Bouncing at alarming speed over the scottish landscape to the total amazement of the tourists and wranglers we encountered. And it is that indomitable spirit with which she created the modern, Constitutional Monarchy. It is an institution so strong, so happy and so well understood , not just in this country, but in the commonwealth and around the world, that the succession has already seamlessly taken place and i believe she would regard it as her highest achievement, that her son, charles iii will clearly follow her own extraordinary standards of duty and service. And the fact that today we can say with such confidence god save the kings attribute to him, but of all ball to elizabeth the great who worked so hard for the good of her country, not just now but for generations to come. That is why we mourn her so deeply and it is in the depths of our grief that we understand why we loved her so much. Welcomed the mother of the house thank you mr. Speaker. What an excellent speech, those resonated in every member of this house and everyone in this country. It was a great speech. I am grateful for the opportunity to make my tribute to the queen and do so on my own behalf and on behalf of my constituents particularly those coming from commonwealth countries in africa and the caribbean, held the queen in such high regard. We are a Constitutional Monarchy and for we, mps, the queen was ever present in the interwoven relationship, she underpinned the democratic system for over 70 years. Underpinning it but never intervening at it. She was always salient, but never met old. Never met old meddled. She avoided controversy not by staying in the background, far from it. She performed her role to the utmost but did it by respecting the boundaries. She carried out her duty and gave us commitment for us to carry out hours. Out ours. When many denigrated she always respected and supported parliament and we should be grateful for that. Between her ministers, not just Prime Ministers, there was regular contact. After labor won the election in 1997 i went to the palace where like other new secretaries of state she appointed me to the privy council and bestowed on me the seals of office. They are actual seals which are given to you and you take back to your department to be locked in a safe. When a year later i was sacked [laughter] and the seals taken out of the safe and taken back to Buckingham Palace. My diary was empty and my phone stopped ringing, my office was astonished to get a call from Buckingham Palace. No one else wanted to have anything to do with me but the queen wanted to see me. I was invited to take tea with the queen to thank me my for my service as secretary of state. My point is the relationship between our queen and parliament and our queen and government was never just on paper, but was always active and always encouraging. She radiated British Values of duty, patriotism, internationalism, charity, and service. While she embodied British Values she never intervened in politics. And that is constitutional alchemy, nothing less. It is evident that everyone, even those who dont agree with the erratic tree hereditary principal of the monarchy cannot but marvel at her personal qualities. I want to marvel at how she could do all this flawlessly, not just over so many decades but as a woman starting her reign in what was emphatically then a mans world, we have to remember what attitudes were at the time. The order of the day was men were in charge and women were subservient. The man was head of the household, and the role of a woman was to get married, have his children and support him. In the 1950s, when she was crowned, i was a child and i remember my mother warning me that people thought men knew more than women and that mens views were valuable while womens were to be disregarded. And so it was in that atmosphere that she stepped up as a 25yearold married woman with two children, to take her place at the head of this nation and play a huge role on the world stage. What determination and courage that must have taken. The Prime Ministers she dealt with were mostly men, mostly twice her age things were very different, a huge change had taken place during her reign. Things were very different when she threw open Buckingham Palace for us to celebrate the 70th anniversary of bbc to celebrate how much women have achieved. As had achieved. As tony blair said, she was the matriarch of this nation, a matriarch for us on the worlds stage and a matriarch too at home in her own family. As well as being our monarch she was the monarch of four children, had many grandchildren and greatgrandchildren and it is to her family that i extend my deepest sympathies for their loss and condolences for their grief which we all share. Theresa may. Thank you, mister speaker. It is with Great Sadness that i rise to pay tribute to her late majesty Queen Elizabeth ii. On my behalf and on behalf of my maidenhead constituents, yesterday was a day that we all knew would come sometime, but in our heart of hearts, we hope to we hoped never would. But as we mourn a beloved monarch we must always remember that she was a mother, grandmother, and greatgrandmother. My thoughts and prayers are with King Charles Iii and the whole of the royal family. And i also remember the close members of her royal household. Queen elizabeth ii was quite simply the most remarkable person i have ever met. Im sometimes asked among all the World Leaders i met who was the most impressive and i have no hesitation in saying of all the heads of state and government, the most impressive person i met was her late majesty Queen Elizabeth ii. She gave a lifetime of service as she promised to do when she was 21. Her selfless devotion to duty was an inspiration and an example to us all. She was respected and loved not just here in the United Kingdom and in her other realms in the commonwealth, but across the world. And that love, respect and admiration, because of the admiration was because of the person she was. A woman of dignity and grace, of compassion and warmth, mischief and joy, wisdom and experience, and a deep understanding of her people. Like so many i had never like soap like so many, until last evening, i had never known another monarch. She was a constant throughout our lives, always there for us, uniting us at times of difficulty and as others have said most recently during covid when she gave us hope that we would once more come together. Her passing marks a generational change not just because of the length of her service but because of what she lived through. When we marked the 75th anniversary of the dday landings she was with the World Leaders not just as queen but as someone who had worn uniform during the Second World War. And and experience quite apart from anything else had taught her how to strain an engine. The queen was always interested in people. When she walked into a room the faces of those present, and her magnificent smile was calm nerves and put people at ease. As i said, in 2018, when there was a reception at windsor and the leaders were gathered and talking among themselves and i knew her majesty was going to join the receptions and they didnt, the moment she walked into the room the sense of love and respect was palpable and they all turned and wanted to speak to her. They loved her and she loved the commonwealth and the commonwealth today is a significant part of her legacy. But i also saw on other occasions including one of her last if not the last appearance she made in public when she came to my constituency in july. The moment she walked through the door the atmosphere in the room changed, you felt the love and respect of the people for her and as she spoke to staff she exuded warmth and humanity which put people at ease. She was queen but she embodied us. Across the world of so many people meeting Queen Elizabeth simply made that day, and for many will be the memory of their life. Of course for those of us who had the monitor to serve, those meetings were more frequent with weekly audiences, these are not meetings for the high and mighty monarch but a conversation with a woman of experience and immense wisdom. They were also the one meeting i went to which i knew would not be briefed out. [laughter] what made those audiences so special was the understanding the queen had of issues, from the word she put in her red boxes combined with years of experience, she knew many of the World Leaders, in some cases she had known them as she was a wise and adroit judge of people. The conversations were special, the queen wanted all guests to enjoy themselves and she was thoughtful and would take an interest in what books were put in your room and didnt always expect to be the center of attention, she was quite happy sometimes to play her form of patience while others were mingling around chatting to each other. My husband tells of the time he had a dream, he dreamed he was in the back of a range rover being driven around the estate and the driver was the queen and the passenger seat was occupied by his wife, the Prime Minister and he woke up and realized it was reality. Her majesty loved the country and she was down to earth and a woman of common sense. I remember what was taking place on the estate, we all put the food and drink out on the table, i picked up some cheese, put it on a plate and was transferring it to the table, the cheese fell on the floor, i had a splitsecond decision to make. I picked up the cheese, put it on the table. And i turned around to see that my every move had been watched very carefully by her majesty the queen. I looked at her, she looked at me and she just smiled. And the cheese remained on the table. This is indeed a sad day but also a day of celebration of a life well spent in the service of others. There have been many words of tribute to describe her majesty Queen Elizabeth the second but these are not hyper, they are entirely justified. She was our longestserving monarch, she was respected around the world, she united our nation in times of trouble. She joined in our celebrations with joy, she gave an example to us all of faith, of service, over duty, of dignity, of decency. She was remarkable and i doubt we will never see her like again. May she rest in peace and rise in glory. Show less text sir edward david. Sir edward david. Sir edward david it is a real pleasure to follow the right honorable lady and can i congratulate her on her heartwarming speech. Members of all sides of the house, express our deepest condolences on the parting of her majesty the queen. We are morning a profound loss, the queen was a formidable monarch who faithfully served our country all her life and was loved the world over. She represented not only duty and courage but warmth and compassion and was a living reminder of our collective past, of the greatest generation and their sacrifices for our freedom. For many people myself included her majesty was an ever fixed mark in our lives which has the world changed around us and politicians came and went she was our nations constant. In challenging times, always a source of calm and comfort. And she tied the nation together, embodying and unwavering pride in our country showing us patriotism not defined by political allegiance and reminding us of the many things that bind us all together even when it doesnt feel that way. We saw this vividly during the Platinum Jubilee celebrations in june. I am proud to represent the oldest royal borough in england. Our jubilee street party lived up to that statement. It was truly wonderful to see such an outpouring of affection from all walks of life, School Children who baked jubilee cakes, neighbors who shared bunting and sang hymns of praise. It was fitting. After so long kept apart by covid, it was the queen, celebration of her majestys reign that brought our communities back together. So joyfully. The country is united today, sadly in grief. The morning across the country now like the celebrations of her jubilee a few months ago comes not from a sense of duty but from genuine and heartfelt affection, love and admiration of her majesty. It was not because we were her subjects but because she was truly our queen. What she meant to us is best summed up by a phrase on so many lips in the last 24 hours, i cant imagine our country without her. For almost everyone in our country she has been there our whole lives. Times of National Grief and national jubilation. She has never not been there for us. It is hard to accept that she is gone and hard to see how we go on without her but we will. Our great United Kingdom has a great future because the queens spirit of strength and resolves lives on in her people. One of the greatest privileges of being a member of this house was a chance to meet her majesty. She visited kingston on the occasion of her Golden Jubilee when i was privileged to sit next to her at lunch i was initially confused by a silver cylinder beside her place. I wondered what treasure this might hold. I had my suspicions when dessert was served, her beloved court dogs were let in and nestled themselves around her feet. In the queen lifted up the lids of the cylinder, plucked out some digestive biscuits and began sneaking them to her grateful dogs. [laughter] whenever i met her, i was struck by her warmth, wisdom, and humor , and im looking forward to hear stories of her. Her majesty will be remembered as a monarch who guided our country out of the shadow of a terrible war, who helmed us through troubled waters and put her safely into a new millennium , and she will be remembered fondly as the monarch who jumped from a helicopter and james bond. For the royal family she will be remembered simply as a beloved mother, grandmother and greatgrandmother. Our thoughts, prayers and condolences are with them all as they bear this terrible loss. After a lifetime of dedicated and Tireless Service to our country and our commonwealth, her majesty has gone to her eternal rest. May god rest her soul, and may god save the king. Now comes to certain duncan smith. Sir ian youngkin smith. Mr. Speaker, i am grateful. I dont intend to repeat what was that much but i just want to say that it is a sad day for all of us. Its tragic news. A remarkable career spanning seven years, endless Prime Ministers and endless leaders of the opposition, too. But for those 70 years, her majesty carried out her duties with charm, humility and not often mentioned real humility and also endless humor. She was quite remarkable in the way, and she learned that from somebody that we havent mentioned today, her father, who in his own way, someone who never expected in a way to be the monarch, who suffered a very significant problem in a speech impediment, and yet he showed her that it was possible to rise above the challenge and to deliver your service to your country at an incredible time. And that service and duty, theres no question she learned at the knees of her father overcoming his own difficulties and putting his country and their service first, something quite often forgotten about. And a couple things that that come to mind because, in fact, so often weve taken our majesty for granted. We expect her to be there the way the crowds when anything was good or bad intercountry, they gather at Buckingham Palace, whether she is there are not there. They gathered. It was almost as though they could touch the railings and draw some support or some mystical help. And there they were again last night in pouring rain outside Buckingham Palace. We often forgot that she was also a human being with her own family issues and problems. And i remember particularly during that period when two of her sons were facing marriage breakups which were being widely reported in the newspapers, in the media with everybody speculating in public about all that was going on, i wonder how many of this house could ever have board Something Like that in such public domain, such a sad tragedy for their mother . And then to top it all, Windsor Castle burns down. A place she loved deeply and felt responsible for. And nobody seemed to take her into consideration until when she approached a speech with an interesting cold and she said that the year for her had been i think the public stopped. We all paused and we realize actually that we had forgotten that we owe as much duty and service to her as she had shown us without complaint. I thought that was remarkable moment really when the country came back from where it was to recognize that duty and service. And the other was when diana, then princess of wales, tragically died in that terrible car accident. And everybody again gathered outside Buckingham Palace, and they demanded that the queen should come. It got more and more shrill with the newspapers banging on about how she has to come back. But there she was in balmoral trying to do what almost any single mother, grandmother wanted to do, which is to put her arms around her grandchildren, comfort them and protect them from what she knew was going to descend upon them. And finally when she came down, i realized that actually it wasnt that they were angry that she wasnt there. It was that the British Public needed her there to be able to show their own emotion as she was the focus for all of that. When she came, everybody cheered and applauded because she wasnt there and now they could grieve properly because she was the focus for that grief. And, of course, we have anecdotes about what we did and i remember when i had ceased being a leader of the conservative party. It happens quite a lot really [laughter] i think she was pretty used to it actually. [laughter] but she kindly asked me to take leave officially, which i thought pretty kind really and said early on nobody else wanted me to do. It was decent effort to do it. And i remember when i came to the palace and i was ushered into her drawing room, small personal sitting room. I was struck by two or three things. One was the electrify which had a very strange piece of cardboard cutout in the shape of flames colored with crayons. I suspect by somebody in the palace, yellow and red, surrounding the two two bar fire which i thought was particularly dangerous. [laughter] but notwithstanding that, im sure it had a purpose. The other one was the tupperware radio sitting next to her, which i havent seen since i parents smashed their last one. And then she very sweetly asked me how i was being clearly sympathetic about what had happened. And i just shrugged and said, well maam, nobody died and i am still here. Whereupon she warred with laughter and the funny thing was as she did she paused, looking at me not sure whether i actually made a joke or whether [laughter] i laughed, too, then she laughed again. Or at me, i couldnt figure that out. That was something to relish. The other anecdote i i just wanted to share with house for a second was slightly different. It was when i was in one of those privy council and for some reason were off for drinks to have at the end of the privy council. Didnt happen very often, so i took full advantage all of the whiskey. And while we had finished the privy council she came round to talk to those of us in the privy council and chat. And she came to me like anybody else nervous, i stumbled through and then i said oh, i remember i have just been reading some stuff about when churchill speeches and a suddenly recalled something that he had said at the time. It was 1941 and president roosevelt sent a note over with the person he had just defeated in his third election. And in it as churchill at said he had written in his own hand uppers from longfellow. I remember in 41 we did know whether we would survive or not. And churchill read it out and i started to speak it, and she started speaking it as well. And it just want to share it with the house. It was, sail on, sale on ship of state, sail on a union strong and great. Humanity with all its fears, with all its hopes for future years is hanging breathless on thy fate. She said it perfectly. She smiled slightly and i did detect a little dampness and i and then she moved on. Anyway it suddenly struck me that that was exactly her. She is, was the ship of state. We look to her for everything, good and in difficult times. She loved the union with a passion. And she loved scotland i think probably most of all. That was who she was. She was that ship of state and somehow we have too to often taken for granted but she has never complain, and she always gave her service. Now for the union of hearts, if the house will indulge me, i want to quote with a few changes. Stop all the clocks. Cut out the telephones. Remember dogs were barking for a juicy bone. Silence the piano, and with muscled drums bring out the coffin as the mourners come. She was our north, our south, east and west, are working week and are sunday rest, our noon, our midnight, our talk, our song. We thought that love would last for ever. We were wrong. May god bless her and keep her and hold her in her hands. And may we bless the royal family. God save the king. I am no good at that, but if we can use up to three minutes. Sir geoffrey. Thank you, mr. Speaker. On behalf of my colleagues and the Democratic Union party and on behalf of many across Northern Ireland, i wish to offer our sincere sympathy to his majesty the king, and to other members of the royal family on the passing of our dear sovereign Queen Elizabeth ii. Individuals and families will gather in their communities to remember a great monarch. A monarch who stood with us in our time of trouble. Her majesty, the queen has been a steadfast and unshakable head of state for the United Kingdom. And for the commonwealth. And her gracious approach has been as others have said a constant throughout our lives. In 1952 during her first christmas broadcast, elizabeth asked the nation to pray, and i quote, that god may give me wisdom and strength to carry out the solemn promises i shall be making and that i may faithfully serve family and you all the days of my life. She certainly fulfilled her promises. Today we mourn her passing. But we do so with tremendous honor for one who served god and her people faithfully. Her majesty led by example in Northern Ireland, and reached out the hand of friendship to help with the reconciliation process. We are dutybound to build on that foundation. The royal visit to the republic of ireland in 2011 was groundbreaking. And the warmth with which her majesty was received demonstrated that she was revered and respected far beyond this United Kingdom. I remember with fondness for speech during that visit where she again referred to her christian convictions, and reminded us that forgiveness lies at the heart of her faith, and that it can reconcile divided communities. Her visits to my own constituency to the city of lisburn and, of course, to royal hillsborough invoked precious memories for the residence and for all of us. And i know that her death will be felt acutely in hillsboro and in the surrounding communities. During the most dramatic of days of our troubled past in Northern Ireland, her majesty visited with us many times to show solidarity with her people in their darkest of hours. Her presence conveyed a deep sense of stability and offered hope to so many. One such visit was in 1976 in one of the most violent years of the troubles. In her christmas address later that year her majesty spoke of the need for an end to the conflict, and pointed the way to peace and reconciliation. She reminded us that the following year was her Silver Jubilee, and expressed in hope that, and i quote, i guess i would most value next year is that reconciliation should be found wherever it is needed. I reconciliation which would bring peace and security to families and neighbors at present suffering and torn apart. Yet just a few short years later her majesty, too, was touched by the violence of the troubles. And her family and toward the hurt in the deep pain of losing a loved one following the assassination by the ira of the earl at baltimore in august of 1979. She shared the sense of loss, and her empathy and understanding offered comfort to so many from all backgrounds. She rose above that sense of loss to reach out across divided communities in Northern Ireland and to offer hope. This is real leadership. Yet, it took almost 20 long years to complete our journey to a peace agreement. An agreement that offer the prospect of bringing about that reconciliation that her majesty Queen Elizabeth yearned to see. Some 25 years on from that agreement, mr. Speaker, we still struggle to be with the legacy of our troubled past. Your majesty, on an island driven by conflict and division, you were a bridge builder. Reaching out to those from opposite sides of the divide and your work of reconciliation helped to heal wounds and to encourage change. Your historic visit to the republic of ireland will take a cathartic moment in british irish relations. The way you conducted yourself, the language you use and the message that you brought helped to lay to rest many of the ghosts of our shared history. That have cast their shadows over relationships on these islands for centuries. It is my hope that your passing and the example you set will inspire us to even greater heights, and to complete the journey that will bring true healing and reconciliation to our troubled land. Your majesty, this United Kingdom has been truly blessed to have you as our head of state. A sovereign whose dignified and faithful service has inspired a nation. I can do no better than quote the words of the book that contains the value you sought to uphold throughout your reign. Well done, good and faithful servant. Our United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is stronger for your rain. And to his majesty King Charles Iii, i say this. We must all work to build his kingdom that it is Even Stronger and more united, and we on this side will use all our endeavors to achieve these objectives. God save the king. I appreciate e with many of the very passionate comments that weve heard already this afternoon, mr. Speaker, and it will be many thousands of heartfelt contributes across the world. Our queen was loved, cherished, respected and is mindful of her deep devotion to Public Service and to the people. And, of course, we all knew would happen one day but, of course, none of us wanted to see. Mr. Speaker, yesterday the heavens open and cried with the country as a devastating news broke of this period of National Mourning begin. Most if not all in this chamber and people across the country and the commonwealth and across the world they knew our queen as head of state. And the late Queen Elizabeth second life was dedicated Public Service but was deeply, deeply inspiring. She held that dignified presence, the ability so much of already this morning to lead our nation through a dark period but also through the most joyous moments that we will celebrate as a country. And, of course, with the horrors of the world wars to the fears of the pandemic she was one who never ever faltered in her duties. And, of course, as my right honorable friend has always said she wasnt there as a model of assurance, to give us strength and support that we would need to the darkest times. But, of course, mr. Speaker, for each and every one of us and all of our constituents of particular her royal visit was one of the most joyous moments and occasions we would all celebrate. They were wonderful, memorable, great event any particular when the visitor a course was her majesty, the queen. A few months after my election in 2010, i of course witnessed that excitement when her majesty, the queen visited that very famous village in my constituency to mark the 125th anniversary. The affection of warmth that was shown to her was astonishing to see that not astonishing discussions and, of course, Queen Elizabeth reciprocated or she touched everyones heart, taking the time to see everyone, to speak to everyone as well. Also include the famous inspection of the worldfamous jam including the production line of the christmas puddings that so many people in this house in particular have recently enjoyed. And, of course, despite this huge undertakings year after year each and every person that she touched felt special, and thats a tremendous part of her own humility and that nearly 12 years ago remains fresh in the might of my constituents who mourn sally with the entire nation today. Of course its not just royal visits that marked her majesty and gave us all that moment of excitement to see her majesty, the queen. For those of course the horses and racing in particular she herself was well known across not just the country but also around the world for her love and passion of horses. Whether it was the famous visit, to derby itself or those who attended wanted to just get that moment with her to get that glimmer hoping to get that little wave or famous tip of the in this country than the late queen. She loved the sport. She loved her horses and then return the whole racing industry loved her and will miss her enormously. Her late majesty made a remarkable life, mr. Speaker, and delivered an era that will stand up in the most magnificent history of our nation. As we mourn the endeavor 70th year of rain we commemorate the great life that she lived and, of course, the long service distinguished service that she gave to our country. We reflect on the importance of the monarch in our lives of course and at this particular time in moment in time our thoughts and prayer are naturally with her family. We offer our wholehearted support and, of course, our commitment to the king, King Charles Iii. In the years ahead while we face the her late majesty will always occupy a special place in the hearts of our nation. God rest her soul and god save the king. Dana margaret beckett. Thank you, mr. Speaker. Ive heard it said that on occasions like this most of us talk about ourselves, and thats inevitable because were talking about the links we have a better memory with a person who is gone. But i think perhaps i am one of the few in this house who does remember when the queens father died. I must admit my memories are twofold. First, how surprised i was the people thought 25 was young. [laughter] and secondly that when she came to the throne we all got a bar of chocolate. [laughter] i first encountered her majesty soon after i was first elected to this house in october 1974, and i recognize many honorable members here are not born then. By 1975 i was a junior government whip. We had a small majority at a large legislative program, and there was a duty that usually fell to a very senior whip, one of writing every day by hand direct to her majesty, the queen to tell her what was happening. I was told this probably originated with the first Prime Minister wrote to the king who told him what was happening in the house. And i was asked to undertake this duty to help my colleagues. It seems to me, i was told by the way, this is very important, that this was a personal message from a member of the government to her majesty for her eyes only. That is relevant. And it seemed to be it was very little point in telling her the things she knew from her red box or that she had read probably in the chat in the daily telegraph, so what i wrote to her about was the stuff that i thought she wouldnt get from either of those sources. I wrote to her about the gossip. [laughter] occasionally slightly edited. And i wrote to her about the rows they were having behind the scenes in sitting rooms. There was no feedback but the wasnt any review either. [laughter] within a day came when the queen went on an overseas visit. Now i do of course that official correspondence always goes through official channels when the queen is out of the country, but i was a very new mp and i thought that something that was marked from me personally to the queen personally that no one would have the impertinence to read that. Some busybody however did. Perhaps a little unfortunately and not unknown to members of this house that was something of a dispute going on at the time about the issue of a relationship with the european community. [laughter] and i told the queen what we thought about it and what we were saying about it and what i thought the ministers of the day were sometimes getting it wrong. [laughter] and the house may not be surprised to learn i will not sully your ears, theres a short phrase that encapsulates really exactly what happened next. But suffice it to say, that i was summoned to the chief whip and after a brief and spirited discussion, the job returned to the person to whom it had originated. [laughter] it was many years later that i heard very indirectly and subtly that perhaps her majesty had slightly regretted a return to normal service, and i thought that was comforting. [laughter] it was many years later after a short involuntary break in my service in this house that i returned from my present constituency where weve had the great honor to entertain her majesty on many occasions, not least in everybodys memory which he open our new football stadium and indeed our brandnew hospital, to which she was gracious enough to agree we could give the title of the royal darby hospital, in which it rejoices to this day here and over the years, three years for example, as president of the council, i was fortunate enough to have many encounters with her majesty and can absolutely endorse everything that has been said and will be said no doubt about her intelligence, her awareness, and her attitude. I was also fortunate enough to be present after the death of our colleague john smith, the commemoration of dday on the 50th anniversary and to be in the Queens Company and her utter respect for the veterans and for the sacrifice in those days over that period. But as i say, i had many encounters with her as president of the council and the foreign secretary i come get her visits like the right honorable lady, i heard her observations about the comments made to her by the mother of a former president about the present one and very interesting it was. [laughter] so i would just testify to the qualities of which everyone else has spoken and which i am sure everyone else will give testimony of her intelligence, her knowledge, her sense of humor. One of my abiding and favorite memories is fairly not very recently, but of recent years. People will probably recall its often not in the unit news, its the duke was being chased by a persistent be and is a a picture of the queen come to an archway giggling uncontrollably and quite unable to suppress how hysterically funny she found it. And i think that very much sums up the person that you could see and admire. She was a remarkable person, a remarkable monarch. And we are the poorer for her going. Thank you very much, mr. Speaker. Often this week can be criticized for the debates we have but it think it is risen to the occasion today in the memory of the late her majesty, the queen. And the contributions drawn all sides of the house show the heartfelt thoughts of members who have had close experience and those of us who have met the queen very infrequently. I met her at the opening of the Scottish Parliament last year and i had a short conversation with her. She moved on to the other party leaders. But i have this picture the queen shake my hand with a beaming smile that we saw in your last picture that was taken at balmoral on tuesday. Her majesty, the queen love to scotland, and scotland loved her majesty, the queen. And i think it is right that that picture that was taken by an excellent scottish photographer who captured her majesty looking very calm, very happy, and varied home in balmoral, which she loved. I also want to speak briefly on behalf of my constituents who enjoyed meeting the queen on many occasions. The most recent visit and her last visit was in november 2014 when she arrived on the royal train at the train station and she went to meet her armed forces. Because it has been mentioned today, but the armed forces, they are important and more important to her majesty and are important to King Charles Iii and will be an extremely Important Role in the coming days and weeks. That visit in november of 2014 was accompanied with a late duke of edinburgh and it was there 67 their 67th wedding anniversary. And it showed that the public commitment to service and the dedication that meant there would have other duties when others would be celebrating their milestone anniversary. That was what the queen provided. Commitment and dedication at every opportunity to deliver for people across the country. We will over the next few days and weeks remember that commitment from her majesty, the queen, and we will and our thoughts and our prayers and the royal family who are grieving the loss of a loving mother, grandmother and greatgrandmother. As we join together to grieve and mourn, we also unite to give thanks and to celebrate, to celebrate a life well lived, to celebrate a life committed and dedicated to Public Service, a life which has shown a light throughout the United Kingdom, the commonwealth and around the world. And in tributes we have heard from this place today and from leaders across the globe show the respect rightly held for her late majesty, the queen. May she rest in peace, and god save the king. Thank you, madam chair pretty speaker. I think probably unlike every previous speaker i only met the queen once and i was when she visited appropriate enough the queens theater which was then my constituency. When she left she went on as she always did to go from strength to strength. I left to be ejected from parliament by the votes and the following election. We had slightly different experiences after her visit but as a leader of the local democrats have said, its difficult to imagine the a World Without her and that is absolutely true. But its worth remembering something that is very rarely remembered and that is that in 1936 after the abdication crisis , the monarchy teetered on the brink, and according to most pulse at that time most british voters sought the monarchy might not survive for very long. Now since 1945, the monarchy has been the most popular institution in britain and has Something Like 80 . Theres no institution that pulls anything like that level of popularity over such a sustained time. Thats not an accident. It happened for two reasons. Both because the queen and her father had the iron dedication to Public Service which possibly started in the most spectacular way when george the sixth decided to remain in london during the war instead of following the advice to leave london and go elsewhere perhaps even to canada, as was advisor told him. The second reason is because he and she had an absolute clear understanding of the constitutional parameters in the role of the monarchy, and neither of them ever went outside that role. In the case of the queen despite repeated attempts to pull her into political controversies included the first black member was in 1974 we had a home parliament, and there was article after article in the press in those days saying that the queen should intervene , should pull the parties together, the two big parties perhaps the three big parties to form some sort of coalition government, and she refused to do it. And she was absolutely right to refuse to do it. She was insistent in that all the way through. And thats her great legacy , that the monarchy survived, because she observed that is absolutely correct constitutional parameters and to think we can all hope that if the new king as im sure he will observes those parameters and has the dedication to Public Service which is already demonstrated, he can reunite and draw together a nation which is as bitterly divided as i can remember. Thank thank you, madam deputy speaker. Today was strange to wake up to the first day without how much our much loved and hugely respected Queen Elizabeth ii. There is a sense of personal loss as well as shock. Somehow her long years of service, commitment and duty felt as if they would never come to an end. As one of the oldest members of my family just told me this way, things change so much in her and our lifetime, and sometimes we feel hopelessly out of date and rather uncomfortable. She was our figurehead, and for that we are truly grateful. The queens reign was somehow timeless. Listen back this went to our first christmas broadcast in 1967 at the dub the dove broadcast of the nation during covid, Queen Elizabeth ii proved continuity right from the postwar years through 15 different Prime Minister\s, s from Winston Churchill to a right honorable friend the members of southwest norfolk and to the extraordinary heartwarming performances with the james bond and with Paddington Bear. To me her handbag will now always contain a marmalade sandwich. I remember being sworn in as a. Counselor, the same day my right honorable friend, and we were given the usual briefing on how you kneel on a footstool with your right hand by your side, your left hand holding a buyable, and my right honorable friend and i looked at each other like, what . What if you fall off your footstool . We were told dont worry, the queen will find it very amusing. [laughter] we didnt find reassuring but likely nothing happened. As president of the council during the parliament of 20172019, i had the honor of regular audiences with the queen ahead of privy Council Meetings. Those occasions i was always struck on the warps other welcome and the frankness of the conversation. The queen was always interested to hear updates on the progress of legislation and the mood of the house. She was very well informed and also quite challenging at the time of Extraordinary Events from brexit to Donald Trumps visit, to behavior scandals are in westminster. Once a year, the leaders of the commons and lords would be invited to Windsor Castle for lunch with the queen and Prince Philip. These locations felt quite overwhelming, but at the same time after a prelunch drink in the sitting room and getting into a conversation about how well the restoration of Windsor Castle was presided over by Prince Phillip compared to her own efforts to restore the palace of westminster, baroness and i were both distracted as we sought to defend the indefensible. A happy memory for me is going to privy council one january with fires burning and the queens corgis, and i recall the queen saying what a very busy christmas yet and i suggested at least her family dont need to pause christmas lunch for the queens speech in which she told me they most certainly did. [laughter] and for all of us her family would pause lunch and watch the queens speech and Princess Charlotte had run over to the tv screen its a look at, there she is. Very heartwarming. Each of the audiences it would strike me and you that privy Council Meetings were just one of the many daily duties of the queen, and that her cheerfulness at her twinkling eyes were always a constant. Truly she was a monarchy for the comfort of others above herself and promised to spend her life devoted. As we prayed everyday sitting in this place the Queen Elizabeth the first may always inclined to the will and walk in thy will so i believe we can now pray with conference that after this life she may attain everlasting joy and felicity through jesus christ, our lord. Queen elizabeth ii spent her life building relationships in our nation, our commonwealth and across the world. In her achievements we can all take comfort and know that the crown passes to our new king we will have example of her legacy to unite us in loyal allegiance to her successor, and charles iii. God save the king. Thank you very much, madam deputy speaker. Its an honor to pay a tribute to her late majesty Queen Elizabeth ii on behalf of my constituents who were in shock today. One of the things that strikes everyone contemplating the sad news is the sheer span of time of her reign, the longest ever rain in uk history. Someone who lived through an era of profound upheaval and change it who represented continuity and certainty amidst the turmoil. When she was born its hard to remember that in 1926 only ten women had ever been elected into this place, and this house of commons. And at the time women did that exercise the vote on the same terms as men. Thankfully, that has now changed, though i always say that work to achieve equality is never done. But she as the mother of the house said earlier, led just by example. She led by being, she demonstrated as our head of state. She was clearly obviously a woman and a wife and a mother, how possible it was even if that had been granted to her by fate, by destiny, to combine the roles of the pressure that she had on her with a family life. Her coronation was the first to be televised. Now the monarchy has a presence on social media platforms seen by billions. Her reign has seen the transition from empire to commonwealth, from conflict to peace in Northern Ireland but also from complacency to climate emergency, which demonstrates to all of us that we have much to do and many problems to confront us. The values she personified are clear and have been clear from the comments in this house, her commitment to Public Service and duty. A woman who dedicated her life to the service of our nation to nation, and when she said at 21 and a broadcast that i declare that my whole life whether it be long or short chubby devoted to your service, that is a vow that she delivered faithfully right up to the very end. She personified wisdom and experience but she did as honorable lady has just spoken, as that twinkle in her eye, whenever you were waiting in line to meet her majesty you could see the twinkle, and it put you at ease. She first visited in 1957 but during my time in this house she first came to birkenhead when she opened the europa pool in 1996. And finally came for the second time in 2011 to open the newly rebuilt floral pavilion in new brighton. Thousands upon thousands of official duties, many, many thousands of my constituents looked forward to her visits and have fond memories of them. She was always interested, always engaging, and always a smiling and reassuring when she interacted with people who lined the routes to see her on this fantastic occasions. So her loss will be mourned. Its a terrible but inevitable loss. She left us in a place where we know we can survive the transition because the strength she gave to the institution. So, make she rest in peace, madam deputy speaker, and we all wish the greatest condolences to the royal family, who are going through such terrible loss now, now. We look forward to supporting the new king as much as we have supported our now sadly lost Queen Elizabeth ii. Madam deputy speaker, i am filled with Great Sadness as a rice to bake a Beautiful Life and the memory of her late majesty Queen Elizabeth ii. Our thoughts are with the royal family who have lost a mother, a grandmother and, of course, a greatgrandmother. Her majesty lived an extraordinary life of service, and the touching tributes that we have already heard from right honorable and honorable members so far, along with the outpouring of emotion from across the world, including from my own constituency, reflect a deep affection and love in which she was held. For over seven decades she was a source of our strength and comfort representative of our , a closest held values and beliefs, a defender of faith, and an embodiment of the very best of Public Service and duty. She was our north star, a symbol of strength in difficult times. To put it simply, she was our queen. Right honorable and honorable members, many have shared their times of when it were privileged to meet her late majesty, and i was able to do so on many occasions and i always welcomed the huge wisdom she would share, the advice, and, of course, the good humor. Will never forget during the occasion of the final privy Council Meeting of 2017. I will never forget during the occasion of the final privy Council Meeting of 2017. As formalities ended her majesty suddenly said, gin and tonic, anybody . [laughter] and proceeded to press a button, and with that, her staff promptly burst through the doors of the 1844 room in Buckingham Palace armed with trays of gnp gin and tonics and nibbles. Now im not much of a gmt trader myself but i was certain aqua could to turn down the opportunity to enjoy one with her late majesty. I later learned that she liked to make the last privy Council Meeting of the year extra special so that she could wish everyone a merry christmas. Madam deputy speaker, our country faces immense challenges at home and abroad, and the person that has always been there is there no longer. However, in the wake of this terrible loss it is an opportunity for parliamentarians from across this house to renew their commitment to the values that were embodied by her late majesty, Public Service, duty, the national interest. If we can leave this place having achieved but the smallest fraction of what her late majesty achieved, our country would be the better for it. After a lifetime of service, her late majesty is now at rest. May she rest in peace, and god save the king. I would like to offer my sincere condolences to her majesties queen family. Queen elizabeth the second has been a constant presence throughout all our lives. She stood as a figure of stability and world that is change at a rapid and sometimes frightening pace. The loss of the continuity that her majesty embodied is a source of sorrow and anxiety for people across the world. Up to her final days she conducted her duties with an extraordinary dedication that has been inspiration for so many of us. Her values of duty, service, reconciliation and forgiveness are values the people of wales hold very dear. In wales, we respect people who embody that sense of dedication to society and to Public Service, who put the public at duty first. Her majesty, the queen personified that duty for so many people, so many years. Her majesty had a canny ability to put people at ease and the middle of palace formality. I remember when i was fortunate to be appointed to the privy council i remember being nervous and being intimidated by the rules that govern interactions of the royal family. Your mind is an infinite check list of everything you could possibly go wrong. What sort of a something she said, she said you may well be worrying that you will do something wrong or in the wrong order. Dont worry, whatever could possibly go wrong, i have seen it before. Theres nothing that you could do that would shock to me now. Even among all the pomp and ceremony that was that works at warmth and courtesy from the queen. Are majesty was a magnificent role model for all the women across the world. Historically of course older women have disappeared from public life. The queen was a constant and visible figure throughout the 70 years of her time. From buildings and charities to football, she always showed an interest in wales. She attended every official opening of the senate and showed to respect for wales nation and our growing democracy. She attended every official opening of the senate and showed to respect for wales nation and our growing democracy. She was patron to organizations as diverse as the royal Welsh Agricultural society, the Football Association of wales, and the welsh pony society. Her love of horses from thoroughbreds to native ponies shone through. You see it in those sparkling smiles. Everyone in public life knows you have a public smile, but the photos with the horses, that was we now see one era drawing to a close and a new one at its very beginning. For now we will say thank you very much, your majesty. May she rest in peace. Gods blessing on the king. Hear, hear. Thank you very much, madam deputy speaker. I rise to share gratitude for the life of her late majesty the queen, share sadness for her, especially for her family, and also sadness to the country and the world at the loss of the greatest statesmen of our time. I also want to mark my own personal gratitude for the advice that her majesty gave me, for her role in particular as has been mentioned by most recent former Prime Minister, for her role in bringing the country together and giving hope in dark times during the pandemic. And i also add for taking the rare step of going public with her Health Status when declaring that she had taken a vaccination and showing further leadership. Hear, hear. She was much loved of course and loved across my constituency, but perhaps no more anywhere than in new market which she visited so often. Newmarket of course is the jewel in the crown of horse racing, certainly domestically and probably across the world. And on her many, many visits of their she showed that she could walk with sovereign and the general public alike. She visited many times it was where i first met her, first time i met her i was, i was lucky to be with my small daughter who handed her a posy. And its my daughters first memory and no doubt will be an abiding one for the rest of her life. And it reminds me of the many times that i had seen her majesty meeting the public, and been impressed and inspired by her sheer ability to ensure that each person she meets understand that she is focused entirely on them, that she listens so well to them, knowing no doubt that for each person she met it was a moment that that person would remember for the rest of her life, her fortitude at continuing to do that well in her 90s was incredible to behold. Now, we and newmarket are not always known for our humility, but the one thing we do know is that the reason that her majesty loved to come to newmarket was not because of those two negative beings twolegged beings but because of those of the fourlegged beings. And her love of horseracing was perhaps our greatest love outside her duty to her family and to her country. The twinkle that weve heard so much of an the genuine smile that came on her face was probably, the smile was probably brought his was at a resource. She demonstrated what was probably her last social public location act i remember it particularly a visit when she came to open the National Horseracing museum, which is in newmarket. She went down the line of dignitaries. She went down and that the public. She gave them her customary focus but she was clearly doing her duty because the museum is full of retired racehorse and it was only when she got to the horses when she really lit up. This was her majesty after best. We have lost a great servant. She is replaced by end of the great servant of our nation. God save the king. Hear, hear. Thank you, madam deputy speaker. I think what is been so remarkable in the words that have been spoken since her majesty, Queen Elizabeths death is just how many peoples lives she touched. It wasnt just simply the link length of her reign know her duty but i think it was her character and the way in which she did her work that meant that she was loved by so many and will be missed by us all. Many of us here today had the privilege of meeting her and talking to her, and like the right honorable member from green i, too, had the drinks at christmas and wish i knew a bit more about cocktails but when for the safe gin and tonic at the time. I want to remember at the start of her reign and then recalled two of the times when i with her. I was eight when Queen Elizabeth was crowned, just my right honorable friend, we were so so the reason the chocolate was so welcome was it was rationed chocolate. We didnt care about the eggs being rationed but the child was in port. We didnt have television in our home. So we crowded around a small black and White Television in one of our neighborss houses. But i really remember seeing the coach, seeing the glittering jewels on her crown and seeing her stunning white dress. It was simply like a fairytale of cinderella or snow white coming through. And that magical moment, the beauty, hope and goodness, has stayed with me all through her long reign. There were two occasions and i met her that also remain strong in my memory. First in the early 1980s when i was leader. The queen visited and we laid on a session with old age pensioners, women, and we were running their a dancing class under the tutorship of the teachers. The queen walked into the room and the warmth of her smile as she entered the room and the utter joy of the women at being watched by her majesty, and the calm way that she put them at ease when she talked to them, was just simply brilliant. And for the queen i think was probably just another day, but for the women it was probably one of the most eventful days in their lives. The second was when the queen came to visit barking and dykeman in july 2015 when she was nearly 90 to mark the 50th anniversary of the creation of the borough. She spent almost the whole day there opening a community center, launching a luncheon a local theater, visited schools and watched a swimming display. Thousands of my constituents came out to see her, and many met her. And she did enjoy a rapturious demonstration. The fact she chose to spend so much of her time with us on what mustve been a tiring day, she was getting on 1090, demonstrates i think her total commitment to us, to her people, and among the sea of union jets that matter. I just remember a plaque which it welcome our queen, we love you. Madam deputy speaker, at the time of constant change, Queen Elizabeth the second gave us stability. At a time of uncertainty, tension and conflict, she always provided a path to reconciliation. And as a nation and community she provided leadership that brought recognition, respect, and status, and love to all of Great Britain and all of our people. We will miss her. Hear, hear. Hear, hear. Thank you, madam deputy speaker. It is with Great Sadness that i rise to speak in the tributes to her late majesty the queen, not only on my behalf but on behalf of of my constituents in s. O. B. The news the whole selby. As we heard as a child she was not expected to be queen and her destiny and that of our nation changed when her father acceded to the throne as king george xi. George vi. As we have heard, as a 21yearold young woman pledge to live a life of service. There can be no one anywhere, madam deputy speaker, i can say she did not deliver on that pledge. I vividly recall the celebrations the queens Silver Jubilee in my village and across the nation. Its also incredible she also celebrated golden, diamond and Platinum Jubilees. Her life spanned some of the most amazing milestones over the last century from the discovery of penicillin, the moon landings and the invention of the world wide web. She was also a monarch who circumnavigated the world including commonwealth countries which he held with such affection. The queen also visited selby alongside her beloved husband the duke of edinburgh. This is in 1969 when they came to present money to 93 men. 10,000 people lined the towns streets that day to welcome and catch a glimpse of their monarch. Now like many right honorable members i have had the privilege of meeting the queen and i cannot tell you how nervous i was as we lined up to meet her. All of my nerves were becalmed once i have been greeted by that beautifully warm smile enter welcoming words. That warmth, that smile is what has comforted our nation over the decades through good and challenging times. The word constant has been widely used, and that is exactly what her late majesty was. It would be difficult to imagine life without her, and it feels like we have all lost a grandmother. My right honorable friend gave a touching speech and refer to her late majesty as elizabeth the great. He is absolutely right to do so. She was a truly great monarch. And in some ways the greatest. Her late majesty was also a mother, grandmother, and greatgrandmother, and my thoughts and prayers are with her family. Especially with King Charles Iii who succeeds or to the throne. As my right honorable friend has said it is a tribute to her that we can say with great confidence, god save the king. Madame speaker, we owe her late majesty a great debt of gratitude. May god bless her and keep her, may she rest in peace. And if i make clear a face paraphrase, announcer listening to programs on cspan through cspan radio got easier. Tell your speaker, play cspan radio, and watch washington journal daily at 7 00 a. M. Eastern and other affairs throughout the day. Weekdays at 5 00 and 9 00 p. M. Catch washington today for reports on the stories of the day. Listen to cspan anytime. Just tell your smart speaker, play cspan radio. Cspan powered by radio. Announcer king charles honoring the late Queen Elizabeths