Taiwo Owatemi – 2022 Tribute to HM Queen Elizabeth II
The tribute made by Taiwo Owatemi, the Labour MP for Coventry North West, in the House of Commons on 10 September 2022.
I rise today to pay tribute to a mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and our longest serving monarch. I extend my sincere condolences and those of everyone in my city of Coventry to His Majesty the King and all the royal family.
The reign of Queen Elizabeth II was one of intense social and economic transformation, and yet she remained the firm cornerstone of our collective lives. People all over the globe were reassured by the Queen, as a force of constancy and dependability when all around them was ever changing.
Coventry has been blessed with many visits by the Queen over the years. In 1956, just four years into her reign, the Queen visited the ruins of the first St Michael’s cathedral in Coventry, and laid the foundation stone for the new cathedral next door. After years of relentless bombing throughout the second world war—bombing that destroyed so much of the city, devastated thousands of homes, hospitals and schools, and took countless lives—the city was beset by grief and a deep sense of loss, as it is today. However, a visit from Her Majesty the Queen breathed new life into our community. The impact that she had on our city was certainly significant—in the city of peace and reconciliation, her presence gave people hope for the future, despite the tragedies of the past.
In 1994 the Queen visited the then Jaguar factory at Browns Lane in my constituency. It was a visit that my constituents valued and fondly remember. This year, during the various platinum jubilee celebrations that I attended across my constituency, many shared stories about their love and adoration of the Queen. To many in Coventry, she was a symbol of optimism, the new world and the future. That is certainly how our city will remember her.
My own prayers are with the members of the royal family during this difficult time. The Queen was a spiritual leader for so many Christians and a moral guide for anyone in public life. In churches and places of worship in Coventry and across the country, we will be taking this time to reflect her values and her exceptional life. Today, we mourn our beloved Queen, and we are grateful beyond measure for everything that she gave us. May her soul rest in peace. God save the King.
