Category: Parliament

David Anderson (Lord Anderson of Ipswich) – 2022 Tribute to HM Queen Elizabeth II

The tribute made by David Anderson, Lord Anderson of Ipswich, in the House of Lords on 9 September 2022.

My Lords, when a Knight of the Thistle dies, the surviving spouse or a child attends on the sovereign to return the knight’s insignia. Shortly before Christmas, as we started to recover from Covid, that extraordinary honour fell on me. Appointment to the Order of the Thistle, Scotland’s equivalent of the Garter, is, as noble Lords well know, in the personal gift of the monarch. My father had no other titles but was thought of, I suppose, because as a young teacher at Gordonstoun he took Prince Charles under his wing. We were proud of our modest tradition of royal service, exemplified by my grandfather, who used to travel to Balmoral, tape measure in hand, to fit the Royal Family for their kilts. Her Majesty seemed to remember everything—that included.

Her Majesty explained that the insignia did not actually need to be returned, pointing to my father’s thistle collar and the badge already laid out on the small round table in Windsor Castle. But she had reckoned without our family incompetence in matters of protocol. I fished out of my pocket a gold-coloured medallion, feeling ashamed that I had not ironed its green ribbon first. We had wrongly believed that it was our duty to keep it safe at home. Royal surprise turned to triumph when the Queen’s sharp eyes spotted that the medallion fitted into an indentation in the jewellery box which contained the badge. She pressed it in like the last piece of a jigsaw.

“It’s been a funny time, hasn’t it?” said Her Majesty, as she drew the audience expertly to a close. “Do you think things will go back to the way they were, or have some things just changed?” That question, posed in the context of the pandemic, came back to me after her death. Some things will never go back to the way they were, and in that there is infinite sadness. The future, by contrast, affords us no comfortable memories and fear often weighs more heavily with us than hope. But our national future can be happy and glorious if we unite to make it so. After an unparalleled life of service, Her Majesty has left us in good hands. Thank you, Ma’am, and long live the King.

September 13, 2022
Floella Benjamin (Baroness Benjamin) – 2022 Tribute to HM Queen Elizabeth II

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

My Lords, I start my tribute to Her Majesty the Queen by expressing my deep sadness and condolences to the Royal Family for the loss of Her Majesty: a mother, grandmother and great-grandmother. All our thoughts are with them.

The word “icon” is banded around quite freely these days, but Her Majesty the Queen was truly a global, iconic monarch who personified everything the people of this country and around the globe truly admired and loved. Her dedication to duty and unflinching devotion to her people and the Commonwealth was, to use a modern term, awesome. When you think about it, we will not see another woman on the Throne for maybe 100 years. We have all lived through unbelievable history.

Her Majesty lived through wars, disasters, floods, political and social upheaval, and incredible technological changes. Yet she had a way of embracing change seamlessly, with easy curiosity, fun and joy. You could see that when she introduced the Invictus Games, with her grandson Prince Harry, online. She was a role model for those who needed to be inspired never to give up and practised consideration, commitment and unconditional love to others.

She was an important pillar of strength to children over the last seven decades and represented something constant in their lives. Many young children wanted to grow up to meet her one day. She gave them that sense of pride which is so important for the human soul and spirit, which young people need. I grew up in Trinidad in the Caribbean in the 1950s and as a little girl sang “God Save the Queen” in the school playground every day. Never did I dream that one day I would meet her, but I had the honour of doing so. I first met her in 1995, when I was president of the Elizabeth R Commonwealth broadcasting fund, which was set up with funds she donated from the royalties of the BBC programme for the 40th anniversary of her reign and which hundreds across the Commonwealth have benefited from.

The meeting I remember most fondly was when she visited the University of Exeter for her Diamond Jubilee in 2012. She was overwhelmed, touched and thrilled by the rapturous reception she received from the thousands of students who came out to greet her on that memorable day. It made her smile; she gave one of her famous smiles all through the visit. As chancellor, I had the task of hosting her. It was then that I got a glimpse of the true character of this remarkable woman. It was like having a masterclass in people skills. She loved to indulge in finding out about everything and in a short time I had to judge who she wanted to find out more about and when she wanted to move on. The signal of that famous handbag meant so much. When she met someone from the Commonwealth, she exuded excitement and interest and had so many questions she wanted to ask them. You could see that this filled up her knowledge bank. She was like a walking encyclopaedia; she knew everything about everything solely because she took an interest in people. She had a great sense of empathy and embraced differences with ease.

She arrived in Exeter at lunchtime and had read every single newspaper, including the Racing Post, because she quoted from them. During our conversations I could tell how much she loved her family by how she spoke about them in the way that any proud mother would. You could tell how much she loved her own mother by the excitement she showed when I showed her where her mother had signed the visitors’ book at the University of Exeter. Her reaction was delightful—so girlish, childlike and wonderful to see. We chatted and shared stories about everything, including faith and forgiveness, which were qualities she told me she admired in Nelson Mandela. We spoke about children and education, which were so important to her. We spoke about fashion—she was a fashion icon—and about food and her famous barbeque.

She had a great sense of humour and her blue eyes twinkled mischievously when she shared a funny story with you, which you felt privileged to hear. Those are unforgettable memories that will stay in my heart for as long as I live.

Our late Queen was a record-breaker. There will never be anyone like her ever again. I feel a sadness saying that. Long may we remember Queen Elizabeth II: a monarch and a woman who touched so many lives across the world. What a legacy she has left behind, including her son. Long may King Charles live and prove to his mother that her legacy was worth while. May she rest in peace. I feel strongly after speaking to her that an eternal spiritual place is waiting for her, which she had been prepared for. Thank you, Ma’am, for being who you are and for being a role model to all of us.

September 13, 2022
Andrew Watson (Lord Bishop of Guildford) – 2022 Tribute to HM Queen Elizabeth II

Speeches,The tribute made by Andrew Watson, the Lord Bishop of Guildford, in the House of Lords on 9 September 2022.

My Lords, I have been deeply moved by many of the contributions this afternoon and share all the sentiments that have been so eloquently expressed. It is a phrase used far too often, but yesterday was truly the end of an era—and a glorious era. Much has been spoken already of the Queen’s remarkable sense of service, emanating from her love for her nation and the Commonwealth, and from her deep faith in the Christ who came as one who serves. But alongside that were two further virtues, contained in another favoured Bible text from the outset of Her Majesty’s reign: the words of Moses to his successor, Joshua, when he exhorted the younger man to:

“Be strong and courageous … for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go”.

What kind of person would be willing to sacrifice their own preferences, private life and retirement plans for the sake of a nation and family of nations? What kind of person would be prepared to carry out such a punishing schedule of public engagements with extraordinary grace, month after month and year after year, even three or four decades after most of their contemporaries have opted for a quiet life of golf or daytime TV? What kind of person would put up with the endless intrusions of the press, making the odd family annus horribilis, with which we all sympathise, infinitely more difficult to bear? What kind of person would offer a listening ear to politicians, Prime Ministers and Presidents alike, while holding to the discipline of never straying into the political arena themselves? It is a strong and courageous person—a person whose commitment to duty, as we have heard, overrode all else.

There must have been times when the gilded carriage which took her to her Coronation felt like a gilded cage, and when the pressure became almost too much to bear, not least in the past couple of years, when she faced many challenges without her beloved Philip by her side. But in an age where personal vulnerability is lauded as the greatest of all virtues and we are constantly concerned about our own well-being, there is something refreshingly unfashionable about the way in which Her Majesty lived her life and carried out her duties. It is not that we can turn the clock back, nor is it that the British stiff upper lip is an unqualified virtue, but there is something about genuine selflessness and a life where the ego is kept firmly in its place, in response to a higher and nobler calling, which has something to teach us all.

I experienced it at first hand in my two personal encounters with Her Majesty, including a remarkable weekend at Sandringham, which concluded with us companionably sitting side by side and sharing our photo albums together—with Willow, the last of the corgis, sitting at our feet. It was such a warm domestic scene that I was genuinely startled after 20 minutes or so to look up, see that famous profile and realise with a jolt “That’s the Queen”.

Much has already been spoken of the Christian faith which lay at the heart of her service, most recently from the noble Lord, Lord Dodds. If she was the rock, Jesus Christ was the rock beneath the rock. Hers was a faith about which she was entirely open but never preachy; a faith that was real and personal but never trite or sentimental; a faith that was deeply nourishing but never sectarian. It was a faith beautifully exemplified in a phrase that has gained some currency in Christian circles: “Roots down, walls down”, meaning that those most secure in their own understanding and identity should be those who are most warm and undefended towards those who are differently rooted.

There are two bricks in the cathedral church from which I travelled to the House this morning, two among the very many bricks for which tens of thousands of Surrey residents—and many others too, my grandmother included—paid 2/6 to see Guildford Cathedral, the Cathedral Church of the Holy Spirit, erected. They bear the signatures of Her Majesty the Queen and His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh, a reminder of one of several visits they paid to the cathedral and very many to the town and county. Perhaps it was providential that when we gathered there earlier this year to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, it was on the day of Pentecost, the festival when Christians celebrate the coming of God’s Holy Spirit. This spirit empowered Her Majesty to live the life she lived through every annus horribilis and every annus mirabilis of the past 70—indeed, the past 96—years. As others have expressed, may she indeed rest in peace and rise in glory.

September 13, 2022
John Morris (Lord Morris of Aberavon) – 2022 Tribute to HM Queen Elizabeth II

The tribute made by John Morris, Lord Morris of Aberavon, in the House of Lords on 9 September 2022.

My Lords, I had the privilege on a number of occasions to have a private audience with Her Majesty, as Welsh Secretary for six years. The most memorable was, while travelling on her plane from Caernarfon, to be summoned by her private secretary to come and sit by Her Majesty on the journey to London. She sought to scrutinise my policies with very careful prodding. As a professional cross-examiner, I was totally unused to being in the witness box.

My job during the Silver Jubilee was supervising the organising of her tour of Wales, based on “Britannia” for three wonderful days, meeting her one sunny morning in a railway siding in north Wales and finishing with the Royal Marines playing on the quay in Cardiff. She greeted the immense crowds from Llandudno to Cardiff with immense pleasure and great interest. I surmise that the high point of the tour was a few quiet hours admiring the beauty of Bodnant Garden. She had the magical quality of combining formality and informality as appropriate. My wife and I valued the great care and meticulous consideration given for my wife’s hearing when she entertained us at the end of each day.

The sense of fun in the Duke and Her Majesty herself was manifest at the opening of Theatr Clwyd in north Wales, when the great actor, Emlyn Williams, delivered his monologue describing the bus trip full of Welsh bards in search of the Druid’s Tap for refreshment. When the Duke turned to me and asked, “Was there such a place as the Druid’s Tap?”, we all rolled with laughter.

Wearing another hat many years later, as Her Majesty’s Attorney-General I had the privilege at the first sitting of the Welsh Assembly to present her two copies of the Wales Bill for initialling. The first was in English; there was no problem. I then presented a second, in Welsh. Trusting her bilingual Minister, without batting an eyelid she signed the second one too.

My sympathies go to King Charles and his family. I have visited his home in Wales on many occasions and he has won the respect and friendship of the nation of Wales through his close interest in our affairs.

September 13, 2022
Stuart Polak (Lord Polak) – 2022 Tribute to HM Queen Elizabeth II

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

My Lords, I pay tribute to all the speakers before me, particularly the noble Lord, Lord True, who is not in his place. On an occasion like today, I think I speak on behalf of the whole House when I say we miss the late Lord Sacks, who would have known exactly what to say.

On hearing of someone’s passing, the Jewish tradition is to say “Baruch dayan ha’emet”, which means “Blessed is the true judge”. In my earliest memories of going to synagogue on a Saturday morning, there was only one prayer that was said in English, and that prayer will be said tomorrow in synagogues up and down the country. I will read it as it was done last week: “He who giveth salvation unto kings and dominion unto princes, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, may he bless our sovereign Lady Queen Elizabeth and all the Royal Family. May the supreme King of kings, in his mercy, preserve the Queen in life, guard her and deliver her from all trouble and sorrow.” In synagogues up and down the country tomorrow we will say it as usual for His Majesty King Charles.

I have been listening to so many personal stories of how Her Majesty touched the lives of so many, even just for a fleeting moment, and that will forever be etched on the memory of those people. In 1971 my mother and my late grandmother were at Royal Ascot. My grandmother at the time thought she was part of the Royal Family and we did not tell her that she was not. On the way back from the paddock to the enclosure, my grandma Leah touched the back of the Queen Mother and said, “Ma’am, you look beautiful.” As the heavies suddenly came round to where my mum—who was deeply embarrassed—was, the Queen Mother said, “Hang on”, and turned to my grandmother and said, “And, if I may say so, you look beautiful too.” At this point both embarrassed daughters, Her Majesty the Queen and my mother, turned round at the same moment and said, “Oh mummy.” This moment, this 10-second encounter, stayed with my late grandmother her whole life, and has stayed with my mother to this day.

The tributes to Her Majesty have all been magnificent, but I listened particularly carefully to Sir John Major, the former Prime Minister, whose tribute included the line, “There was almost no part of the world she had not visited.” Sir John was right. I will concentrate for a moment on the word “almost”. On 22 June 2016, the night before the EU referendum, I was at a small dinner with a few people raising a little bit of money for Gordonstoun at the home of the Princess Royal. As I was leaving, I said to the headmaster that I would happily come up to the school and speak to the students about politics. Princess Anne turned round and said, “I think they’d be more interested in your previous work.” We had a conversation and discussed how the Royal Family were prohibited by the Foreign Office from visiting Israel. We agreed that it was and is sad that the Queen, as someone who was deeply religious and God-fearing, never walked down the Via Dolorosa into the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, visited the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem or experienced the peace and tranquillity on the shores of the Sea of Galilee.

At a Jewish funeral, Psalm 16 is often recited in Hebrew. In translation, it ends:

“You will make known to me the path of life;

In your presence is fullness of joy,

at your right hand bliss for ever more.”

Yehi zichra baruch—may Her Majesty’s memory be for a blessing.

September 13, 2022
Jock Stirrup (Lord Stirrup) – 2022 Tribute to HM Queen Elizabeth II

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

My Lords, my earliest memory goes back to the moment when I had just turned the age of two. I can be certain of the date because my parents had moved house and I clearly remember the removal men in their dustcoats delivering our furniture. The date was February 1952 and Queen Elizabeth was just acceding to the throne. So, until yesterday afternoon, my entire conscious life had been exactly coincident with the second Elizabethan age.

That age has now ended. I have fond memories from its latter years of many meetings and discussions with the Queen, both professional and social, and I shall always be grateful for her kindness, her wisdom, her support and her great sense of fun, which I am happy to say was just as evident when I last spoke with her only a few weeks ago. Like the most reverend Primate the Archbishop of Canterbury, I also remember the winter barbecues at Sandringham, and I am proud of having been the co-producer, with my sovereign, of a particularly successful salad dressing.

The Queen was, as the noble Lord, Lord Butler of Brockwell, observed, the head of the Armed Forces. She took an intense interest in their activities—their difficulties and challenges as well as their successes—but particularly in their people. She had formal affiliations with a great many formations and organisations, all of which valued the association highly. I think that over the next few days and weeks many stories will be told and memories exchanged, with that strange and piercing mixture of sadness and joy that I suspect we all experience today.

I want to focus on just one incident from several years ago. One of the Queen’s military affiliations was as the honorary air commodore at RAF Marham, a station very close to Sandringham. I commanded RAF Marham over the first Gulf War. When we started to lose aircraft over Iraq, the Queen was immediately in touch, wanting to know how she could help, and in particular how she could support the families. She came and had private meetings with the next of kin of those who were missing in action. She spoke with the families more widely. She listened to them, empathised with them and made them understand how much she cared. That is just one small incident in a very long reign, but for me it epitomises it all.

The nation has lost a Queen. The people have lost one of the best servants they have ever known in this or any other age.

September 13, 2022
Nigel Dodds (Baron Dodds of Duncairn) – 2022 Tribute to HM Queen Elizabeth II

The tribute made by Nigel Dodds, Baron Dodds of Duncairn, in the House of Lords on 9 September 2022.

My Lords, it is difficult to follow so many eloquent speeches that have already been given in the House by your Lordships this afternoon, but I rise to add few words on my own behalf and that of my noble friends in the Democratic Unionist Party, and on behalf of so many in Northern Ireland who feel the loss of Her Majesty so acutely today.

So many words have been spoken, yet, no matter how many or how eloquently expressed, they cannot do justice to the feelings that we experienced when we heard the dreadful news yesterday afternoon on the passing of Her Majesty. That shock was palpable; as the noble Lord, Lord Purvis, said, there is a sense not just of loss but that people are lost, in a bit of a limbo and worried about what might happen going forward.

As the noble and learned Lord, Lord Judge, said, we knew this day would come but we wished that it would not. The sense of loss is acute. Her Majesty was a constant presence in our lives and in the life of our communities, and in each of the countries of our United Kingdom she is, or was, the embodiment—a mother and grandmother of our United Kingdom. It is hard to process.

We think today of her family and, in particular, the new King Charles III. We pray that he will know God’s blessing and guidance in the days ahead. He has to grieve and yet immediately assume the great duties, burdens and responsibilities of the monarchy. It reminds us, of course, that, at the tender age of 26, Her Majesty herself ascended to the throne while she desperately grieved his late Majesty King George VI; but she embraced her duties without hesitation, taking upon herself the mantle or duty and service.

Those beautiful words that she spoke on her 21st birthday,

“I declare before you all that my whole life, whether it be long or short, shall be devoted to your service”,

have been fulfilled in the most exemplary way and with such grace. The qualities of integrity and great wisdom shone through brightly her entire life, with her great strength and stay his late Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh constantly at her side. What was striking to many of us was her deep Christian faith, so evident in her wonderful Christmas broadcasts. How we will miss sitting down on Christmas Day to hear the gentle words of Her Majesty speak to the entire nation. Today, as we look over decades of her service, we have been reminded in your Lordships’ House that, while many paid homage to her, she first placed her hands and her life in the hands of Christ the Lord himself. As we look back over 70 years, we are reminded of what the Bible says about life:

“For what is your life? It is even a vapour that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.”

But Her Majesty has left behind such a legacy and example for us all.

People in Northern Ireland warmly welcomed every one of Her Majesty’s visits to our Province. People loved her. Even those who wish a different future for the Province held her in the highest esteem and with the greatest respect. I had the wonderful privilege, like many in this House, of meeting her on a number of occasions in different capacities. As Lord Mayor of Belfast in the late 1980s, I remember on one of Her Majesty’s visits, which were not very frequent then because of the security situation, she visited my former constituency in north Belfast. Two police officers had been badly injured the previous day in a terrorist attack, and her first words as we lined up to greet her and welcome her were to express concern and inquire after their health, which showed her compassion and deep concern for people in Northern Ireland, which was evident on many other visits that she made to the Province.

When she returned in 2012 for the Diamond Jubilee celebrations, I remember the many tens of thousands who were able to turn out to the Stormont estate and welcome her. Her visits became more widely open to the public because of the improved security and political situation, which she warmly welcomed and of course played such an important part, in her quiet diplomatic way, in bringing about. Her visit to the Irish Republic will go down as one of the great significant milestones of Her Majesty’s reign and will be remembered as an important and significant milestone in the peace and political process.

In Northern Ireland, like other parts of this great United Kingdom, we will never forget Her Majesty’s steadfast support for and encouragement of our people through dark days and, gladly and wonderfully, brighter days in recent times. Thank you, Ma’am. God save the King.

September 13, 2022
Jeremy Purvis (Lord Purvis of Tweed) – 2022 Tribute to HM Queen Elizabeth II

The tribute made by Jeremy Purvis, Lord Purvis of Tweed, in the House of Lords on 9 September 2022.

I am privileged to follow the profound eloquence of the noble Baroness in her tribute and I echo many of her regards. It is to the personal, the local and the international personified by her late Majesty that we pay tribute today. As the sorrowful but necessary processes in my home country north of the border pass, she will continue in the wee dark hours over the border, on her last journey home, through my home town of Berwick. Like many noble Lords, I have memories of meeting her in my home area; they no doubt felt when they met her as I did—that she knew our area more than we knew it ourselves. It was just one of the many attributes she held that are receiving tribute today.

Queen Elizabeth II lived for nearly a third of all the time of our union and was sovereign of it for nearly a quarter. This will never be repeated in the future story of these isles: a semi-mystical link between old and new, a shelter of calm in storms of turbulent political waters and, in the wider world, an embodiment of reliability as the tectonic shifts in how the world sees itself have moved, along with the place of our country in this transformation, from empire to Commonwealth, from military prowess to cultural influence.

I reviewed the Motions of condolence for the late King George VI in 1952. From these Benches, Viscount Samuel quoted Prime Minister Nehru of India as saying that

“when the relationship between England and India took a new turn and was based on friendship and free association … I was impressed by his thoughtfulness and understanding of us and our position, and we welcomed him most willingly as Head of the Commonwealth”.—[Official Report, 11/2/1952; cols. 1080-81.]

Her late Majesty built upon this foundation and became the reason beyond all others as to why peaceful transition with complex moral dimensions on an immense scale, touching every part of the world, has been a success.

Today, I was due to be arriving in Khartoum. Friends from there messaged me last evening, as others have from other parts of the world. I was greatly moved by the news that the pictures of her Majesty’s visit there in 1965 have been circulating widely. That country is vastly different from before and after independence—as is the world. Another Sudanese friend messaged me saying, “Her legacy in the decolonisation era will especially be remembered in our region of the world”.

No other leader of a country in world history has ever travelled so much or met more leaders and people from more countries. As one American publication put it this morning, “Among Queen Elizabeth II’s many talents was an ability to turn the most powerful man on the planet into an overexcited fanboy—tea with the Queen outranking a nuclear arsenal”.

At home in the Borders, where her visits were frequent and her knowledge of our equestrian common ridings was thorough—as was that of other members of the Royal Family; in fact, the Queen Consort was due to be in Galashiels yesterday—we will feel a gap as she passes through for the final time.

Her late Majesty made me feel it that it was a remarkable stroke of good fortune to be born British, and I know the pride felt by many people who have come and made Britain their home. That pride for our history is in my heart, but there is a sense of anxiety in the pit of my stomach for the future. Many people of my parents’ generation and, indeed, my own, and I myself, feel loss, but some will feel lost. Who will be the constancy in times of churn to come? So, for our union at home and our place in the world abroad, I thank her late Majesty, and I wish the new King every success.

September 13, 2022
Valerie Amos (Baroness Amos) – 2022 Tribute to HM Queen Elizabeth II

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

My Lords, I shared in the shock and sadness of people in this country and across the world when we heard the news of the Queen’s passing last night. Of course, I share the sentiments already expressed in this House about the Queen’s extraordinary commitment to public service, her sense of duty and her leadership.

In my brief remarks I will focus on the Queen’s standing internationally, which went far beyond her lifelong commitment to the Commonwealth. I have been struck by the numerous messages I have received since yesterday—there have been many, as I am sure we have all received—from family, friends and colleagues around the world about their deep sense of loss and sadness. They felt a connection with our Queen and, through her, us. It is a connection that speaks to values and, crucially, to stability and calm in a turbulent, complex and changing world.

The Queen was not just a confidante to our Prime Minister. She played that role with many Prime Ministers and Presidents over the years. As a Foreign Office Minister I was very conscious of this. I also saw it in many discussions I had when I engaged with politicians internationally. She gave wise advice and brought a light touch to those interactions, which helped to give those Prime Ministers and Presidents the confidence to do things that they thought might be too difficult.

The noble Lords, Lord Jay and Lord Ahmad, have spoken about the Queen’s important diplomacy role. Some noble Lords will have seen the heartfelt tribute last night from Prime Minister Trudeau, who spoke absolutely to this. I would also like to pay tribute to the way in which she has led Britain through extraordinary change. The Britain that my family arrived in in the 1960s was very different from who we are today. We are a diverse, multi-ethnic nation, and throughout this change the Queen was a constant.

Perhaps I might end on a very personal note—there have been plenty of anecdotes today. In June, I had the privilege of a personal audience with the Queen ahead of Garter Day. Our conversation ranged over a number of subjects, some light-hearted, some very serious. A number of references have been made to the Queen’s sense of humour. She relished telling me the story of the filming of that skit with Paddington Bear and the challenges of acting with a bear who was not moving or speaking. She also told me that the jars of marmalade were already beginning to arrive at Windsor Castle. It was a warm and very special experience for me, and I will always treasure it. I offer my condolences to His Majesty King Charles III, the Queen Consort and the other members of the Royal Family.

September 13, 2022
Alan Smith (Lord Bishop of St Albans) – 2022 Tribute to HM Queen Elizabeth II

The tribute made by Alan Smith, the Lord Bishop of St Albans, in the House of Lords on 9 September 2022.

My Lords, I join in with the tributes to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth for the extraordinary reign we have observed, for which we pay tribute today.

Like many noble Lords, I too have my anecdotes. I remember going up to stay in Sandringham for the weekend. Coming from a farming background, I had expressed interest in her racehorses and she was very keen to show them to me, so I was summoned outside. There was a Range Rover there, and she came out very brusquely and shouted across to me, “Jump in, Bishop; I’m driving”. She set off at a rate of knots, and I was holding on for dear life. She taught me a great deal about prayer at that point, which is perhaps why she was called Defender of the Faith.

I want to briefly draw your Lordships’ attention to one other thing about Her Majesty which I think is really significant. Some people have asked, “Why has she had such an impact?” One of the features or tendencies of many of those in leadership for a long time is that the longer they are in leadership, the less they really listen. What struck me about Her Majesty the Queen was that she really listened. I am not saying that she did it superficially. The first significant time I met her was when I had paid homage and, afterwards, we had a conversation. She immediately wanted to ask my views on various aspects of the history, industry and background of Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire. In an informed way, she showed that she absolutely knew what was going on—but what did I think about it? What did I think was happening?

At a later stage, when I was staying at Sandringham, there was an odd moment when I was sitting around with other guests, and Her Majesty had come down and was playing patience. I remember thinking, “Do I just wander across and have a chat with her? Well, I’m not going to get invited again, I don’t suppose, so let’s go for it.” I went across and asked, “May I join you?” She said, “Please do”, as she was playing cards. It was just after Christmas, and she wanted to know what I had thought about her Christmas message. She wanted to know how people had heard it and whether it had been able to speak and communicate with people. It caught me totally by surprise that that was what she was interested in. She was so concerned that she was not only on transmit mode, as it were, but engaging with people of different groups. She wanted to ask whether I had spoken to people in various places to hear what they had thought about it. I was able to assure her that people had been very grateful for the words she had expressed. That quality of attentive listening is one of the reasons why so many people relate to her as a person. It is a wonderful gift to be able to do that at the end of a reign of 70 years.

To finish, I just want to comment on one picture, which the noble Lord, Lord Newby, mentioned. There have been a number of what I think people today call “iconic” photographs, but it is that picture—I think it is the last photograph we have—of her standing with such fragility and frailty. In a world where it is endlessly presented to us that the only style of leadership is that which is bold, aggressive and so on, she was showing us that there are other sorts of leadership, which can come from humanity and fragility. That picture of her leaning on her stick, stooped over with her hand outstretched, will stay with me as a picture of welcome and warmth. For that, I give thanks to God. I give thanks for her life and, along with many other Members of this House, I say: may she rest in peace and rise in glory.

September 13, 2022