Minutes:
At the invitation of the Mayor, the Deputy Lieutenant, Ann Cable, paid tribute to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
The late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II was for the majority of the people here and possibly all of us here, the only Monarch that we have known. We have read about previous Kings and Queens in the history books and so have been aware of them, but this is different. We have lived our lives alongside Her Majesty and through that, perhaps we have a greater and deeper connection with her. Queen Elizabeth came to the throne at just 25, when our country was emerging from the shadow of the war and this nation has grown and developed under her reign and the Commonwealth is the family of nations it is today because of her. Her late Majesty was the champion of freedom and democracy around the world. She valued all people. She was a symbol of co-operation and reconciliation for us. She represented continuity, certainty, a calm subtle understated leadership with quiet wisdom. That wisdom and reassurance gave us strength in the most testing times, most recently perhaps in the dark moments of the pandemic but she gave us hope that life would return to some normality again and in her words that “we will meet again”. Over her reign, she saw unprecedented social, cultural, and technological change - she showed us not to be afraid of change and to a step forward and embrace it. Her life was, of course, not without unhappiness and troubles but she was steadfast in her duty to her country. Her strength came from her faith. Her values, her principles, her steely determination to what was right but in the right way. She was an inspiration to so many, particularly women - a female leader in a still male dominated world of the 50s and 60s, she bridged motherhood with being a Monarch and she also bridged generations, communities and indeed nations. As a Monarch she was someone who was separate, but she wasn't distant. She understood how the visibility of the modern Monarchy was so important for us. Her people to relate to and for us to know and understand. She made those personal connections, she would look you in the eye and there was a genuine interest in her conversation, a tenderness, a real warmth in her smile and that human touch enabled us to relate to her. There was, of course, the inevitable pomp and pageantry of royal ceremonial, but this was complemented with elements of the everyday and of fun. Family barbecues, enjoying a day out at the races and I wonder how many of us here would mention tonight the spoof parachute jumps with 007 and tea and marmalade with Paddington Bear. That good humour, that authentic humility and that human touch was what endeared her to us all. With her singular grace and powerful example of dignity and duty, she was quite simply my inspiration.
It has been the most immense privilege to serve Her Majesty in my role as a Deputy Lieutenant but also wearing my other voluntary hat, I was on duty at all four of her jubilee celebrations and I was privileged to meet her on a few occasions. It was an honour this past week to serve her one final time and to witness her final journey. Her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II was loved and admired by people across the United Kingdom and the world, and her legacy will endure through the countless people that she met and the lives she touched. She was at the heart of our national life for 7 decades and her devotion to duty remains an example to us all and so we pay tribute to our late Queen. We send our deepest sympathy to all members of the Royal Family, and we offer loyal service to our new King.
God save the King.
All: God save the King.