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  • Stephanie Fraser – 2022 Tribute to HM Queen Elizabeth II (Baroness Fraser of Craigmaddie)

    Stephanie Fraser – 2022 Tribute to HM Queen Elizabeth II (Baroness Fraser of Craigmaddie)

    The tribute made by Stephanie Fraser, Baroness Fraser of Craigmaddie, in the House of Lords on 9 September 2022.

    My Lords, I feel distinctly underqualified to offer my tribute today, particularly in such august company, but I feel humbled that we have this opportunity to do so.

    Like the noble Viscount, Lord Stansgate, I wish my father were here because he was very involved in horseracing throughout his life—something that we know the Queen absolutely adored and was unbelievably knowledgeable about, as my father could attest to. As a result of hanging on to my father’s coat-tails, I was extremely fortunate in my early 20s to have the honour of my life; it was almost more of an honour than when I was brought into this place. I was invited to stay at Windsor Castle for Ascot Week. As I was a young 20 year-old, as you can imagine, my mother packed my suitcase and made sure that I knew what to do. I could curtsey because my ballet training had helped with that, but I was sent off with many lectures, such as, “Don’t you dare put a foot wrong and let us down”.

    I must say, from the moment I walked into Windsor Castle, Her Majesty could not have been kinder or more wonderful a host to that nervous young girl, even when I forgot basic things, such as my race glasses—which it is pretty essential to take to a race meeting. We were all under a great timetable, so I ran down those long corridors thinking, “Have I got time to get them before we’re meant to be in the cars?” and all the rest of it. Her Majesty saw my problem and shoogled me along, saying, “No, off you go, go in front of me”. I also experienced the deep disappointment of the schoolchildren lining the route and waving at us as we went up the racecourse, which was amazing. When they got to the carriage I was in, right at the back, I could see them thinking, “Who on earth is that?”

    However, that is not really what I want to pay tribute to. As the leader of a charity, I want to say thank you and note Her Majesty’s enormous contribution to civic society and charities. As has been said, she was patron of more than 600 charities. In fact, the Royal Family’s website notes that more than 3,000 charities have a member of the Royal Family as either their patron or their president. These charities are throughout the UK. They cover all aspects of life, from health and disability to education, the arts and sport. It is tireless, unglamorous work. The visits the Royal Family make to charities make a huge difference, not only to the organisations themselves, in highlighting some really important and sometimes not very fashionable issues. For the people we support, the beneficiaries, their visits are a highlight. In my experience, nobody ever says no to coming to meet a member of the Royal Family.

    This also highlights the importance of the Royal Family, because that is an awful lot of organisations. As we heard in His Majesty’s address, he will not be able to carry on the work that he has done. I therefore thank the wider members of the Royal Family who support this work and have until now supported the late Queen, because I would consider any organisation fortunate to have a royal patron.

    I have two other things to note quickly. Her Majesty’s love of Scotland was a love by heritage but also by experience. Given that she died at Balmoral and we have all these events in Scotland in the coming days, it is wonderful to note that love of Scotland. As somebody said, she was a unionist to the end. Her most political statements were in the Silver Jubilee and before the referendum, about the importance of the union of all four nations of the United Kingdom.

    Finally, we have heard many people speak about her service and it being a personal service, but it is also a personal service from us to our monarch. The last time I was in the same vicinity as Her Majesty was in July, in the Palace of Holyrood House, where there was a reddendo by the Royal Company of Archers, the Queen’s personal bodyguard in Scotland. They are all volunteers and amateurs. My husband happens to be the Adjutant of the Royal Company of Archers, and they were organising a reddendo.

    I did not know what a reddendo was, and I was put in my place by my husband, because it was to mark the 200th anniversary of the forming of the Royal Company of Archers. It was the one event of the week that was not about the Platinum Jubilee and it was an opportunity for them, after 200 years, to say, “Thank you, your Majesty, for allowing us to be your personal bodyguard”. She was on absolutely tremendous form that day, and 324 volunteer amateurs turned out and put on a fantastic parade that made her smile light up. I just note the captain-general’s words on that occasion. In his speech to the late Queen, he noted that in its 200 years, the Royal Company of Archers had served eight monarchs, but more than one-third of its history had been spent serving her. It was a privilege to thank her.

    Our new King ended his remarks by saying that hers was a life well lived. It was, and, like the archers at their reddendo, I too should like to say thank you.

  • Glenys Thornton – 2022 Tribute to HM Queen Elizabeth II (Baroness Thornton)

    Glenys Thornton – 2022 Tribute to HM Queen Elizabeth II (Baroness Thornton)

    The tribute made by Glenys Thornton, Baroness Thornton, in the House of Lords on 9 September 2022.

    My Lords, may I begin by saying how much I appreciated the remarks of the noble Lord, Lord True, and my noble friend Lady Smith in opening this debate. They were wonderfully moving.

    Like many noble Lords, I spent yesterday evening glued to the television and exchanging messages with family and friends, and, like many other noble Lords, I was puzzled as to why I felt so discombobulated and odd. That is an experience that we all seem to have shared. Possibly it is because I was born in the year that the Queen came to the throne—I am 70 in six weeks’ time—but actually I think it is mostly because we were witnessing something seismic, a huge shift in our civic infrastructure and our life in the UK, and we all have to come to terms with that. We in this House have to work out how to support our nation in getting through this period.

    I am a member of what I like to think of as the elite group in this House who are Baronesses in Waiting. Since several Baronesses in Waiting are here and have spoken, I wonder whether we should form a former Baronesses in Waiting group—“FBIWG”, we could call it. Most of us had to be taught how to curtsey, because if you do not get it right you fall over. In my case, I was taught by a lady in waiting just before the audience that we all have to have before we can undertake the varied duties of being a Baroness in Waiting. I do not have a huge recollection of the conversation in that audience because there were several of us and it was actually a bit terrifying. However, in the course of that conversation I mentioned to Her Majesty that the week before, I had been to Poundbury on a coach trip of parliamentarians. When I said that, I saw a glimpse of a mother who was really proud of her boy. She was really proud of the work that our new Head of State was doing in Poundbury in its early days.

    The duties that we were to undertake were very varied. In my case, they included accompanying Her Majesty to Parliament for State Opening in December 2009 in an open carriage—I underline that this was in December—with Her Royal Highness Princess Anne, who I have to say I thought was going to turn blue with cold. We had other duties such as attending diplomatic balls. I am a millworker’s daughter from Bradford, so I experienced these things with wonder and perhaps some terror but, like others in this House, I also experienced the warmth and humour of Her Majesty and other members of the family, which turned those into very valued and treasured experiences.

    As our new Head of State, King Charles, said in his address tonight, he will have to leave behind many of the causes and organisations into which he has poured his time and passion for decades, from young people to the unemployed and the environment. I must say, I hope that many of those progressive causes do not fall by the wayside. I was pleased to hear His Majesty’s assurance that support for many of those businesses, charities, social enterprises and causes will be picked up and will continue.

    In his remarks, His Majesty finished on a point of hope. I think we just need to say “Onward and upward” from now on.

  • Shas Sheehan – 2022 Tribute to HM Queen Elizabeth II (Baroness Sheehan)

    Shas Sheehan – 2022 Tribute to HM Queen Elizabeth II (Baroness Sheehan)

    The tribute made by Shas Sheehan, Baroness Sheehan, in the House of Lords on 9 September 2022.

    My Lords, perhaps I may start by saying how much I have appreciated the quite admirable tributes from across the House that we have heard today. I add my wish to be associated with them. What a privilege and honour it was to be present in the Chamber with other noble Lords and staff as King Charles III made his first address to the nation. It was really quite a moving occasion.

    I think we can all agree that, as tributes go, this one to her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II writes itself. She was a quite remarkable woman whose life of service and duty was lived in the full glare of public life in exemplary fashion. She dealt with the numerous challenges that arose with admirable fortitude and dignity. She was never haughty, never unkind and never condescending—although, judging by anecdotes from noble Lords today, she seems to have had ample opportunity to respond in such a way on several occasions.

    I never met her late Majesty, but I wish I had. Nevertheless, her passing has hit me hard, and it is very emotional for me and for the multitudes of her subjects from all corners of the world who also never met her but who have come to royal palaces just to be there to remember her with love and to pay their respects. I wish to speak today as one of them and on their behalf, if that is not too presumptuous. I come from an immigrant family from Pakistan as part of the Commonwealth. In us, her late Majesty inspired feelings of loyalty and respect, and our love. She garnered the gratitude of the people of the Commonwealth who came here to build a new life. In greeting leaders of all countries of the Commonwealth with respect and dignity, hers was an example to other leaders in our communities and to ordinary people in their dealings with their newly arrived, different neighbours.

    Not only that, but she took the trouble to travel extensively to Commonwealth countries and accept their hospitality. She will have known that, in many parts of the world, to be a guest is to confer a great honour on your host. We immigrants may have felt the antipathy of some towards us, but it was always a comfort to know that the Queen pointed the way to decency. It is no accident that so many of those who have wanted to be at one or other of the royal palaces are from the Commonwealth, because for them she was their champion and they loved her for it. That love seemed approved by the heavens as a rainbow shone forth over Windsor yesterday evening.

    Her faith guided her throughout her life. It was a privilege indeed to swear allegiance to a monarch who valued faith, a monarch who will be deeply missed by her family, to whom I offer my deepest condolences, particularly to King Charles and his Queen Consort, Camilla. I look forward to swearing loyal allegiance to King Charles III. God save the King.

  • Raj Loomba – 2022 Tribute to HM Queen Elizabeth II (Baron Loomba)

    Raj Loomba – 2022 Tribute to HM Queen Elizabeth II (Baron Loomba)

    The tribute made by Raj Loomba, Baron Loomba, in the House of Lords on 9 September 2022.

    My Lords, Nelson Mandela once said:

    “What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is what difference we have made to the lives of others that will determine the significance of the life we lead.”

    I was sorry to hear that the Queen died yesterday. She was an extraordinary woman who fulfilled her destiny with dedication, dignity and grace, using her power behind the scenes as a cohesive force, bringing people across the globe together with an overall perspective of future unity. In challenging times she was a rock, which our Prime Minister also mentioned yesterday in her speech. Today marks the end of an enormously long Elizabethan era.

    Like me, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II was born into a world where the British monarch was Emperor of India, but it fell to her, coming to the Throne five years later, to embody that transition to a post-imperial world, and there can be no greater tribute to her than the heartfelt outpouring of love and gratitude expressed by the leaders of Commonwealth countries all over the world since Her Majesty passed away on Thursday. The transition has been different for every country, but it was the Queen’s unfailing spirit of service and humility that allowed even the most painful of memories not to stand in the way of forging a new relationship.

    I had the honour to meet Her Majesty twice, once at the opening of the GLA building—I have a beautiful photograph of myself with her—and, on another occasion, at the opening of Barnardo’s new offices as I am the vice-president of Barnardo’s. I was completely taken back as both Her Majesty and the Duchess of Cornwall—now the Queen Consort—wanted to hear about my charity for widows.

    In 1997, 50 years after India gained her independence, it was my privilege to organise the British-Indian Golden Jubilee banquet in London, at which King Charles III, then of course the Prince of Wales, quoted the Vedas and expressed his thanks to India for its civilising influence on Britain. It was a moment that symbolised the transformation that had taken place from imperial power and subject nation to the familial ties of equals. The enduring strength of those ties between the world’s fifth and sixth-largest economies was illustrated again yesterday when the Prime Minister of India recalled the Queen’s warmth and kindness.

    Many tributes have alluded to the Queen’s greatness. To that, I would add my voice by saying that the greatness of Queen Elizabeth II lay not in harking back to the days of empire or in asserting dominance over others, but in the service and humility that characterised her reign and opened the door to new beginnings.

    I pay tribute to her late Majesty for the contribution she has made, which has undoubtedly made the world a better place than it would otherwise have been. It is her legacy that in an increasingly uncertain world offers hope for the future. I know that the Queen’s love for India and for the Commonwealth was fully shared by her eldest son, King Charles III, and that he will seek to build on that legacy. God save the King.

  • Christopher Chessun – 2022 Tribute to HM Queen Elizabeth II (Lord Bishop of Southwark)

    Christopher Chessun – 2022 Tribute to HM Queen Elizabeth II (Lord Bishop of Southwark)

    The tribute made by Christopher Chessun, the Lord Bishop of Southwark, in the House of Lords on 9 September 2022.

    My Lords, it was profoundly moving to sit together in this Chamber and listen to His Majesty the King speaking to the nation and Commonwealth of his profound thanks to his mother, Her Majesty the late Queen, and of his commitment to follow her example of selfless service. That resonated deeply.

    I wish to share two conversations that I heard while travelling here today. One was on the Underground, when someone looked across and said, “You must be busy at the moment”. Guessing what this was leading up to, I said, “How is the news of the Queen’s death affecting you?” He said, “I’ve just been with my mum, who came to this country 70 years ago; she is now 74. She has only ever known the Queen and she is devastated. I too am full of sorrow”. And on we talked. Then, to get here in good time, I hopped into a black cab. The cab driver, when he knew where I was going, also put two and two together. He dropped me off and said, “That one is on me, Father. We are all sharing in this”. And so it is.

    The tributes paid in this House and in the other place have rightly dwelt on personal reminiscences and the place of our late sovereign in the life of the nation. I too, like my fellow Prelates, have made my way to Sandringham in the depth of winter. Like them, I have both made my homage in due time and faced the Supreme Governor of the Church of England across a jigsaw puzzle. I have had my sermon judged and been put at my ease in spacious hospitality.

    Since the news yesterday, we have been thinking deeply about what we knew of Her late Majesty in the light of our loss. I have one particular observation to make. As your Lordships know, my diocese covers the boroughs of south London and east Surrey. Near where I live is the magnificent edifice of Streatham public library, to which was added in 1912 a truly splendid clock by public subscription in memory of the late King Edward VII, who had died two years previously. A little further, again funded by public subscription, is a monumental statue of the same King at Tooting Broadway. I mention this because both stand out and both were by public subscription, and thus reflect the sense of the people of the day as a tangible means of expressing thanks and making their own tribute.

    I wonder what we might say and do in response to the life of our late Queen. There are many tangible tributes that we may make in the coming months and years to Her late Majesty the Queen, but one of the greatest tributes would be to take to heart the sense of vocation and service she embodied in her role. In an age where politics is dominated by great parties and economics by great corporations, is it not salutary that even those who wield political and economic power are in some sense accountable and defer to someone who personifies the unity and well-being of the nation, and in that person to find a pledge of lifelong service and integrity—one that is not shouted out but lived out year after year?

    I will tell one small anecdote. My late sister-in-law, who was profoundly deaf, accompanied me during my time as Bishop of Woolwich when the Royal Artillery moved from Woolwich down to Salisbury Plain. Her Majesty the Queen was there for the occasion and spotted that my sister-in-law was wearing a Duke of Edinburgh gold badge. She went up and, as soon as she realised that my sister-in-law was deaf, her face lit up and non-verbal communication took place that was at the deepest and most wonderful level. My sister-in-law felt that she had had a wonderful conversation with the Queen, the Queen not least talking with her about deafness in her own family. Her capacity to reach out, particularly to those who live in this life with great challenges—disabilities, learning difficulties and many other challenges—was a real hallmark of her own integrity.

    Her late Majesty the Queen spent her long life in service with an uncomplaining dedication that she derived from her pledge to us and her duty to God, who called her to be our Queen. So, in audiences and walkabouts, at her official boxes, in correspondence, at investitures, before military personnel, before crowds, at great national occasions, in countless private moments, in numerous personal kindnesses and in her prayers, she did not fail us. May we embody these standards in the vocation we have been given—that will be a fitting tribute. Thanks be to God; God save the King.

  • Ilora Finlay – 2022 Tribute to HM Queen Elizabeth II (Baroness Finlay of Llandaff)

    Ilora Finlay – 2022 Tribute to HM Queen Elizabeth II (Baroness Finlay of Llandaff)

    The tribute made by Ilora Finlay, Baroness Finlay of Llandaff, in the House of Lords on 9 September 2022.

    Today, as we pay tribute, having been led so sensitively and eloquently by our Front Benches, we must remember that Her Majesty was patron of over 600 charities and each felt that they were unique to her. Hospices and hospitals benefited greatly from her support and she lifted the morale of everyone, even the sickest person. We saw that she herself lived fully and with her uniquely great dignity until death took her.

    The Chartered Society of Physiotherapy had the honour of having Her Majesty as our patron since 1953—its charter having been granted by her grandfather, King George V, in June 1920. Every year of those 69 years, she sent her official royal greetings to our members to mark our AGMs. In 2020, the centenary of our charter, she particularly noted the vital contribution of physiotherapy staff in response to the Covid pandemic. Every year as president, I read out the message and the uplift in the room was palpable: it was affirmation by her while physiotherapists focused on their service to the health of the nation—her subjects—and all felt, and indeed knew, that she deeply appreciated their role. Every event that Her Majesty attended created treasured memories for all who were there. Every year, many enjoyed the honour of a lifetime: an invitation to one of the Queen’s annual garden parties, and some received honours in recognition of the impact of their work.

    Her commitment to her citizens across the Commonwealth of Nations, as we have heard so eloquently, was evident throughout her long service. She unwavering dedication to all her subjects provided stability during many turbulent times. At the recent launch of the Commonwealth Tribute to Life—a memorandum of understanding across the Commonwealth—the friendship and support that she inspired were palpable among the transplant professionals in the room.

    I saw Her Majesty’s concern for each person when I attended Sunday service at the Royal Chapel of All Saints in Windsor Great Park. Suddenly, one of the choirboys was taken ill. After attending to him—he did seem rather ill—I stood outside, rather than disrupt the last minutes of the service. At the end of the service, Her Majesty came towards me and inquired, with great concern in her kind blue eyes, about the welfare of the child and whether he would be all right. Her sensitive concern overrode all other duties in those moments.

    Her corgis were also an important adjunct to her quiet sensibility. David Nott, the trauma surgeon, described how half a dog biscuit, discreetly handed to him to give a corgi under the lunch table, helped him to recover his composure as the post-traumatic stress of Aleppo overwhelmed him.

    Our deepest sympathy and sincere condolences are offered to all the Royal Family, as the whole nation shares in profound grief and treasures those moments, some longer than others, when their lives were touched and enriched by our amazing Queen. My very first memory is of watching her Coronation on our neighbour’s first TV. We all have our lifetimes of memories of Her Majesty to treasure, as if she was our own much-loved mother or grandmother. Now, in deepest sympathy with all who love her deeply, particularly her family, we pledge our commitment and allegiance to His Majesty King Charles III.

  • Nicky Morgan – 2022 Tribute to HM Queen Elizabeth II (Baroness Morgan of Cotes)

    Nicky Morgan – 2022 Tribute to HM Queen Elizabeth II (Baroness Morgan of Cotes)

    The tribute made by Nicky Morgan, Baroness Morgan of Cotes, in the House of Lords on 9 September 2022.

    My Lords, it is a pleasure to follow the noble Viscount. So much has already been said this afternoon, but at a time of grief it is better for us all to say something. In his message yesterday, our new King said that he and his family would draw comfort from all the sentiments of loss, mourning and gratitude that people would express in the coming days. We have heard many fantastic and moving speeches and it has been a privilege to be part of your Lordships’ House today to listen to them.

    I will offer three brief thoughts. First, as has been mentioned and as the noble Viscount just captured in his tribute, the Queen’s last service was to invite her 15th Prime Minister to form a Government. Her face in that picture was still innately curious. To have that level of curiosity at the age of 96, after everything that the Queen had seen, was truly remarkable. Her curiosity was also captured, as we heard earlier, in that very simple question to those City financiers after the 2008 financial crash: “Why did no one else see that this was going to happen?” What a good question that she asked on behalf of so many of her subjects.

    Secondly, we have heard that, for those who encountered her in the flesh, it was an unforgettable experience. She said that, for those who were just going to catch a glimpse, she deliberately wore bright clothes so that she could not be missed. Whatever we might think of His Majesty’s wardrobe, he is unlikely to wear that rainbow of colours that we got so used to.

    As we heard, in 2012 the Queen visited Leicester with the new Duchess of Cambridge and the Duke of Edinburgh. It was a huge honour for both the city and county for that visit to be the first to any city in the Diamond Jubilee year. Of course, there was great excitement, but the tip that I took away, having watched Her Majesty during the lunch, was that it is acceptable to open your handbag, get out your lipstick and put it on after lunch. I have taken that tip and told many people about it; they found it a great insight into what was in her handbag—apart from marmalade sandwiches.

    We heard a story from the noble Baroness, Lady Barker, of someone encountering the Queen and not being able to speak. In my case, when I was appointed to the Privy Council, I forgot to breathe. As the black spots appeared in my peripheral vision, I suddenly realised that I had stopped breathing as I was so close to my monarch and was observing her in close quarters. We also heard about the kissing of hands. While one is not meant to go into the details of Privy Council experiences, it is fair to say that, however experienced in life you are, that ceremony of kneeling and kissing your monarch’s hand is probably the most agonising kiss that you will ever make in your lifetime.

    Thirdly, the Queen was our voice of stability at key moments. We have mentioned her Christmas afternoon broadcasts. Of course, after the death of Princess Diana, when the country needed a moment of stability, she was the one who invoked the phrase:

    “Grief is the price we pay for love.”

    That is worth remembering today. She was also asked to speak in spring 2020 when the Covid pandemic had struck with such ferocity.

    I have no doubt that His Majesty the King will provide that same stability and that our thoughts and support will be with him over the coming days and months as he takes on his new duties. In many ways, we began to see that transition of power when he was at the State Opening of Parliament in this House just a few months ago. As we have heard, all these events will be much more of a shock for everyone at every level of society and everywhere around the globe than most of us would have expected. God save the King.

  • Stephen Benn – 2022 Tribute to HM Queen Elizabeth II (3rd Viscount Stansgate)

    Stephen Benn – 2022 Tribute to HM Queen Elizabeth II (3rd Viscount Stansgate)

    The tribute made by Stephen Benn, 3rd Viscount Stansgate, in the House of Lords on 9 September 2022.

    My Lords, I hope the House will allow me to begin by saying how much I appreciated the opening speeches by the Leader of the House, the Leader of the Opposition, the Leader of the Liberal Democrats, the Convenor of the Cross-Bench Peers and the most reverend Primate the Archbishop of Canterbury, who made a collection of remarks that set the tone for today’s debate. I have listened to some wonderful tributes from other Members throughout the day and I think today’s Hansard will be a remarkable document and a testament to the person in whose honour we are holding this debate.

    I remember when I lost my own mother, as many Members will remember losing theirs. It is a very difficult thing to lose one’s mother and therefore my sympathy personally goes out to the King, from whom we will hear shortly, and his family, because of the loss they are suffering, which is of course combined, as others have said, with the duties that now fall upon the new King.

    I am one of the Members of this House who did not meet Her Majesty and I am not going to claim that I did. I was in close proximity to her on more than one occasion—at the investiture when she gave my wife an OBE, and so on—but I am not going to claim that I had any personal conversations with her. Nevertheless, I recognise the enormous importance she had to the lives of people in this country and the impact she had on them. I am sorry in some ways that my dad is not here to make a speech about his relations with the Queen, because he certainly had many stories he could have told, including his rather unsuccessful attempt to cut her head off—not in any physical sense, you understand, but in relation to British stamps. Noble Lords can read all about that in his memoirs.

    The more I have thought about it over the last 24 hours, the more I think it was no coincidence that we saw her fulfil the one last constitutional duty which only she could fulfil on Tuesday in appointing the new Prime Minister, and then sadly found that she became very unwell and died shortly after. I think she knew for weeks, as we all did, that she had this duty ahead of her and she held on to fulfil it. That would be absolutely typical, from everything I have heard anyone in this Chamber say about Her Majesty in the 70 years she reigned. I do not think it was a coincidence that she lived long enough to do it.

    I also think she is a supreme example of a successful constitutional monarch, for which we should all be very grateful. Looking back over the years of her reign, I think that this country has moved, as has been indicated by others, from a position where we were still an imperial power and had an element of what you might call hard power. Over the decades it has been transferred into soft power, and she embodied that in a way that is going to be very hard to follow.

    Her death is still a shock and for many people it will continue to be so. When we hear from the new King in a moment, it will begin to bring itself to bear on people’s lives. However, there is a great deal to celebrate. We all know that she lived to see an unrivalled Platinum Jubilee celebration. Although she was not able to take that much of a part in many of the events, the country, the nation and the Commonwealth had a chance to say thank you to her, and her own contribution was, in a way, to live to see it unfold in front of her. However, there is still a great deal of mourning now.

    Reference has been made to the remarkable interviews that she gave when she was younger and her pledge to serve her country and the Commonwealth whether her life “be long or short”. It turned out to be remarkably long, for which we are all very grateful. She served her country as she promised to do and fulfilled her promise. You cannot ask for more than that and I do not think we will see her like again in our lifetime.

  • Howard Flight – 2022 Tribute to HM Queen Elizabeth II (Lord Flight)

    Howard Flight – 2022 Tribute to HM Queen Elizabeth II (Lord Flight)

    The tribute made by Howard Flight, Lord Flight, in the House of Lords on 9 September 2022.

    My Lords, I add my grateful thanks and tribute to Her Majesty the late Queen. I raise these points both professionally and at a personal level. She has always been professional in the delivery of her duties and responsibilities, and it is wonderful to see how much she is recognised across the whole world.

    I stood with my parents 69 years ago in Birdcage Walk to watch the coronation procession and I can remember that to this day. Little did I know that I was witnessing the beginning of a reign of 70 years by such a wonderful and human Queen. At the tender age of only 18, the Queen committed herself to her duty, her standards and all the action that has come since.

    A mere 67 years ago, the Queen opened the science building at my school, Brentwood School. Very many other enterprises have been supported thus by the Queen. While I am sure Charles III will make an excellent King, I am saddened greatly by the departing of my Queen. She has left us, a wonderful person. We will not see her like again.

  • Kevin Shinkwin – 2022 Tribute to HM Queen Elizabeth II (Baron Shinkwin)

    Kevin Shinkwin – 2022 Tribute to HM Queen Elizabeth II (Baron Shinkwin)

    The tribute made by Kevin Shinkwin, Baron Shinkwin, in the House of Lords on 9 September 2022.

    My Lords, the scale of technological progress achieved during Queen Elizabeth’s remarkable reign was exceptional but, as the noble Baroness, Lady Benjamin, reminded us, so too has been the change in social attitudes and values. As the noble Baroness, Lady Amos, said in her powerful speech, the Britain that the Queen leaves behind is so different from the Britain of the beginning of her reign. Indeed, the very idea that, even in the middle of her long reign, she would have made someone such as me, with a severe disability that also affects my ability to speak, a Member of your Lordships’ House I find inconceivable. The fact that I am speaking in your Lordships’ House today compels me to reflect that, surely, the richness of the legacy that she has bequeathed to us can in part be seen in the far more diverse and inclusive society she so gently nurtured.

    For me, one of the most visible signs of that deep personal commitment to all her people was her unstinting support for Motability, the charity co-founded by my noble friend Lord Sterling of Plaistow. I will never forget the occasion on which I was presented to Her Majesty at Windsor, where she very kindly hosted an event for Motability as its chief patron. It was a chilly spring day as we gathered outside, yet she spent over an hour greeting and speaking to all of us. For someone who grew up in an age of discrimination, some of it state-sanctioned, on grounds of sex, race, disability and sexual orientation, her capacity to reflect evolving attitudes and, subtly but no less powerfully for that, embrace diversity and inclusion was extraordinary. As my noble friend the Lord Privy Seal said in his profoundly poignant opening remarks, she was the Queen of everyone.

    As others have also said, she was a monarch of great courage as well. As we reflect on the stresses and strains of our troubled world, I am sure she would want us, as her beloved people, to draw strength from the fact that she served us, cared for us and led us through incredibly tough times, not least during the pandemic. Throughout, she always projected a supreme confidence that the resolve, resilience and resources of the diverse peoples of her United Kingdom and the Commonwealth would see us through to better times.

    The Queen was the personification of public duty. Our duty is to live up to her example and, as she did, continue to nurture a more diverse and inclusive society to the benefit of us all. His Majesty the King, as the Prince of Wales, has already shown his long-standing commitment to diversity and inclusion through the wonderful work of the Prince’s Trust and his support for interfaith initiatives. He deserves our fulsome support. That would surely be a fitting tribute, to sustain her legacy. May she rest in peace.