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  • Selaine Saxby – 2022 Tribute to HM Queen Elizabeth II

    Selaine Saxby – 2022 Tribute to HM Queen Elizabeth II

    The tribute made by Selaine Saxby, the Conservative MP for North Devon, in the House of Commons on 10 September 2022.

    It is a privilege to rise, albeit with great sadness, to pay tribute to Queen Elizabeth II on behalf of my constituents and to send North Devon’s deepest condolences to the royal family.

    The Queen has been such a constant in our lives, dedicating her life to public service as she said she would, that it is hard to imagine life without her. Her beautiful outfits and hats, her smile and her constant reassuring presence will be sorely missed. Thank you for all you have done, the joy you have brought us and the memories you leave us with.

    The Queen visited Barnstaple back in 1956. The royal train arrived at the station at 10 am, and other than a slight hiccup—an official opening the wrong door—the visit went off smoothly. In our pannier market, she was greeted by 5,000 children, who cheered wildly, and I hope many of them who are still with us have recalled that day this week, and indeed still frequent our pannier market. Unfortunately, I was not there in 1956 and I have never had the opportunity to meet the Queen, unlike so many of my longer serving colleagues. One of the joys of this sad time has been to hear their fond memories and wonderful anecdotes.

    Although we continue to mourn, with this morning’s proclamation we must look to the future. I have no doubt that King Charles III will follow in his mother’s fantastic footsteps—and I have met him. Twenty years ago, he was already supporting a wide range of charities and he met ladies from the Moonwalk—a breast cancer charity walk—at Highgrove. If I have the privilege to meet our new monarch again, I may remind him that I was the one in the bra decorated as two strawberries.

    May the late Queen rest in peace. God save the King.

  • Katherine Fletcher – 2022 Tribute to HM Queen Elizabeth II

    Katherine Fletcher – 2022 Tribute to HM Queen Elizabeth II

    The tribute made by Katherine Fletcher, the Conservative MP for South Ribble, in the House of Commons on 10 September 2022.

    On behalf of my family, friends and the people of South Ribble, I wish to pay tribute to Her Majesty Elizabeth II. This is a sad loss and many people across South Ribble have been in touch with me, from Penwortham, Leyland, Croston, Tarleton and the surrounding villages. A theme within that, especially today, has been how deeply they have wanted to celebrate a remarkable life and a remarkable woman. If the House will bear with me, I should like to give two examples of why, to me, she was the epitome of that.

    The Queen was a woman of global influence and respect, including in the Commonwealth, as my hon. Friend the hon. Member for Mole Valley (Sir Paul Beresford) mentioned. In an African Commonwealth country, people were sat around the fire and in that conversation we had represented New Zealand, Zulu, Australian, Shangaan, Afrikaans, English, French and American. The conversation turned to the Queen, and it is fair to say that not everybody understands our system and many questions were asked. Ultimately, a little voice said, in a Kiwi accent, “Oh, she’s like the ultimate pressure valve on your system.” That is what our constitutional monarchy is, and the Queen bore that on her shoulders since she was 25. It was a remarkable life and she was a remarkable woman.

    More personal for me is the fact that in the 1980s, when I was growing up, we had a female Prime Minister, a Queen and even a lady in the Speaker’s Chair, and it did not occur to seven-year-old me that women were anything other than in charge. I am sure that given her famous sense of humour, which has come across in many of the contributions made here today, the Queen would have enjoyed my surprise at discovering, when I had grown up a little more, that it was not the norm for women to run everything. From a global icon to an inspiration for a little girl, wow, this was the one and only Queen. I might even say that she was the original Spice Girl. Was she the originator of girl power? It is possible. On behalf of all of us, what I can simply say is: thank you for everything. May she rest in peace and rise in glory. God save the King.

  • Jonathan Gullis – 2022 Tribute to HM Queen Elizabeth II

    Jonathan Gullis – 2022 Tribute to HM Queen Elizabeth II

    The tribute made by Jonathan Gullis, the Conservative MP for Stoke-on-Trent North, in the House of Commons on 10 September 2022.

    It is with great sadness that I stand today, on behalf of the people of Stoke-on-Trent North, Kidsgrove and Talke, to share in our collective grief at the loss of the grandmother of the nation, Her late Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II. Like the constituencies of many across this House, Stoke-on-Trent North, Kidsgrove and Talke was blessed to host Her late Majesty the Queen on a few occasions. This went all the way back to 1949, when the then Princess visited the potteries, in the mother town of Burslem. She returned in 1955, visiting 30,000 excited schoolchildren at the old home of Stoke City football club, the Victoria Ground. She visited again in 1999, when she came to the Dudson Centre, meeting members of the touring Hallé orchestra.

    My right hon. Friend the Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip (Boris Johnson) was right when he said that we allowed ourselves to believe Her late Majesty the Queen to be eternal. In preparation for this speech, I reflected on some words from the famous Stoke-on-Trent author Arnold Bennett, who said

    “We shall never have more time. We have, and have always had, all the time there is.”

    Bennett is right, in that we shall no longer have Her late Majesty the Queen as a physical presence in our lives—I have tried to explain that to my daughter Amelia, who, only on Tuesday, was on FaceTime to me while I was lucky enough sit here in this Palace of Westminster and was saying, “Daddy meet the Queen”—but Her late Majesty’s legacy will continue to live on forever, in generations yet to come. Her dedication to public service and duty, her national pride and her unwavering personal faith provide lessons for us all to pass down to our children and grandchildren, enabling us to help support her successor, our King, in taking us forward into the future, unsure of what lies ahead but collectively empowering us to stand shoulder to shoulder, undeterred in our love and belief in our United Kingdom. The people of Stoke-on-Trent North, Kidsgrove and Talke, including me, give our heartfelt condolences to His Majesty King Charles III and his family at this time, for they have lost not only their Queen, but a mother, grandmother and great-grandmother. As we pray that Her late Majesty the Queen lies in eternal peace and happiness, myself and the people of Stoke-on-Trent North, Kidsgrove and Talke wish to bear our true faith and allegiance to His Majesty King Charles III, as she would have wanted. God save the King.

  • PRESS RELEASE : Ceremonial and events guidance following the death of Her Majesty The Queen – Sunday 11 September 2022

    PRESS RELEASE : Ceremonial and events guidance following the death of Her Majesty The Queen – Sunday 11 September 2022

    The press release issued by the Cabinet Office on 11 September 2022.

    Scotland

    10:00 – The Coffin of Her Late Majesty the Queen departs from Balmoral Castle for the journey to the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh.

    11:25 – The King’s Body Guard for Scotland (Royal Company of Archers) and the Guard of Honour will march from the Castle Esplanade to the Mercat Cross.

    11:50 – The main procession will make its way from Parliament House to the Mercat Cross.

    12:00 – The Lord Lyon King of Arms will read the Proclamation to the people of Scotland. This will be followed by a 21 gun salute from Edinburgh Castle.

    12:30 – The Procession will then make its way to Edinburgh Castle where the Lord Lyon will read the second Proclamation.

    16:00 – The Coffin arrives at Holyroodhouse.

    For more information visit www.gov.scot

    Wales

    12:00 – Proclamations read in Cardiff Castle.

    For more information visit www.cardiff.gov.uk

    Northern Ireland

    12:00 – Proclamations read in Hillsborough Castle.

    12:00 – Gun Salutes in Hillsborough Castle.

    For more information visit https://www.hrp.org.uk/hillsborough-castle/

    Royal Residences

    For information on laying floral tributes at Royal Residences, including in London and Windsor visit https://www.royal.uk/mourning-and-condolence-arrangements-royal-residences

  • PRESS RELEASE : Prime Minister Liz Truss’s call with the Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte [September 2022]

    PRESS RELEASE : Prime Minister Liz Truss’s call with the Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte [September 2022]

    The press release issued by 10 Downing Street on 10 September 2022.

    The Prime Minister spoke to Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte this afternoon.

    Prime Minister Rutte expressed his condolences on the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and said that the people of the Netherlands had been shocked and saddened by her passing.

    The Prime Minister thanked Prime Minister Rutte for his kind words and the leaders paid tribute to King Charles III on the day of his proclamation.

    The Prime Minister and Prime Minister Rutte agreed on the importance of the UK-Netherlands relationship and looked forward to working together as close neighbours and likeminded partners.

  • PRESS RELEASE : Prime Minister Liz Truss’s call with President Emmanuel Macron of France [September 2022]

    PRESS RELEASE : Prime Minister Liz Truss’s call with President Emmanuel Macron of France [September 2022]

    The press release issued by 10 Downing Street on 10 September 2022.

    The Prime Minister spoke to President Macron of France this afternoon.

    President Macron expressed his deepest condolences on the loss of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. The leaders agreed on the profound mark Her Majesty The Queen made not just on the UK but the world, and the Prime Minister thanked President Macron for his words.

    The leaders agreed on the value of a strong UK-France relationship as we work together to tackle the energy crisis caused by Putin’s illegal war, as well as other security, defence and strategic issues.

    They looked forward to meeting soon to discuss these issues.

  • PRESS RELEASE : Prime Minister Liz Truss’s call with Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki of Poland [September 2022]

    PRESS RELEASE : Prime Minister Liz Truss’s call with Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki of Poland [September 2022]

    The press release issued by 10 Downing Street on 10 September 2022.

    The Prime Minister spoke to the Prime Minister of Poland, Mateusz Morawiecki, this afternoon.

    Prime Minister Morawiecki expressed his condolences on the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. The leaders agreed that Her Majesty The Queen’s long reign and life of public service is as an inspiration to many.

    The Prime Minister and Prime Minister Morawiecki agreed on the strength of the UK-Poland relationship, particularly as we work together to support the people of Ukraine.

  • Mark Logan – 2022 Tribute to HM Queen Elizabeth II

    Mark Logan – 2022 Tribute to HM Queen Elizabeth II

    The tribute made by Mark Logan, the Conservative MP for Bolton North East, in the House of Commons on 10 September 2022.

    It is a sorrowful privilege to rise to pay tribute to Her Majesty the Queen on behalf of Bolton North East. We are faced with the indescribable loss of the guardian of our traditions and the soul of our nation, but Her Majesty was more than that: for evermore, she will be the United Kingdom. We are feeling this loss, achingly so, in Bolton. You only had to be there during the platinum jubilee celebrations to get a sense of the adulation felt for the Queen in our town. Bolton was, on many occasions, the preferred destination of Her Majesty. In 1953, not long after taking the throne, the Queen’s first-ever football match was the FA cup final between Blackpool and Bolton Wanderers at Wembley stadium. Wanderers lost 4-3—though that was later remedied in 1958 when the Duke of Edinburgh awarded them the FA cup after they beat Man United 2-0.

    Her Majesty first visited Bolton in 1954 where the royal train pulled up into Trinity Street station, and in 1968 she visited St Paul’s church in Halliwell. In 1988, Queen Elizabeth II visited Bolton to celebrate the town’s 150th birthday, witnessing investment into the town centre, and 30 years on, the town is being revamped once again. Her last visit was to Warburtons, where the rock that was forever by her side—the Duke of Edinburgh—joked with factory workers. I was going to say, “Imagine being a fly on the wall for some of those jokes”, but Warburtons has a great hygiene regime in place and therefore no flies.

    We MPs may think we are busy running around our constituencies, but Her Majesty was able to see so many people and places in each of our respective areas. She was there all along, as our living environments and country went through inevitable change. We can learn from her integrity and live up to higher standards—for she was the standard. The wave of her hand, the comfort of her words at 3 pm on Christmas day and the steps she took on every footpath across the kingdom and the Commonwealth kept us all on the one road. We will never cease to miss and cherish her. As Her Majesty said during June’s celebrations,

    “I hope this renewed sense of togetherness will be felt for many years to come”.

    As we are brought together here to mourn our collective loss, I say, God bless the Queen. God save the King.

  • Nigel Evans – 2022 Tribute to HM Queen Elizabeth II

    Nigel Evans – 2022 Tribute to HM Queen Elizabeth II

    The tribute made by Nigel Evans, the Deputy Speaker, in the House of Commons on 10 September 2022.

    I want to put on the record my appreciation and that of the people of Ribble Valley for the Queen. She had a strong relationship with Ribble Valley. I met her there and was honoured to meet her here in London as well. It was rumoured by a lady-in-waiting that if ever Her Majesty retired, she would want to retire into the Ribble Valley, but we all know she never intended to retire, because hers was a lifetime of service for which we are incredibly grateful. We will miss her. God save the King.

  • Paul Beresford – 2022 Tribute to HM Queen Elizabeth II

    Paul Beresford – 2022 Tribute to HM Queen Elizabeth II

    The tribute made by Sir Paul Beresford, the Conservative MP for Mole Valley, in the House of Commons on 10 September 2022.

    I was visited by a number of my constituents yesterday. I had forgotten what we were there to discuss and so had they. All they could talk about was the Queen. They were sad to begin with and then they moved on to positive things. Their condolences were combined with really positive feelings for her.

    At the end of 1953, the Queen and the Duke visited New Zealand—New Zealand is as far away as you can get from Buckingham Palace without coming back. It is still heavily royal, and it certainly was at that time. Public reaction to the visit was so positive that I suddenly realised—even though I was only knee-high to a grasshopper—that there was a very important person called “the Queen”. The Queen and Prince Philip had a really positive following when they arrived just before Christmas, which they had greatly engendered as a result of their sympathetic and instant positive reaction in response to the Tangiwai disaster. What happened was that the royal couple arrived in New Zealand on 23 December, and, the following day, Christmas eve 1953, a railway bridge over the Tangiwai gorge collapsed, and it collapsed just as a heavily loaded express train rolled onto it. The locomotive and the first six carriages were derailed and went into the river, killing 151 people. The tour stopped. The royal couple were involved in all the sympathy, the memorials, and meeting the people—those who had lost relatives and those who had survived. Their position in New Zealand rose higher than you could possibly imagine. What happened really solidified the very strong standing that they had in the eyes of the New Zealand public—whether they were Pākehā or Māori. They charmed their way across the country. Many Members have talked today or yesterday about the Commonwealth, and that was the way the Queen became the linchpin of the Commonwealth. She charmed her way with Presidents, Prime Ministers and the people of those 56 nations and the 2.5 billion people who make up the Commonwealth. The Commonwealth is vital to our position and to some sanity on this Earth. We now look to our new King to continue the Queen’s success. It is a huge job. I wish him well because he is filling some huge shoes that were worn by a very small, but enormously successful, lady. I wish him well and pray that it works as well as it did with his mother.