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GOOD MORNING and welcome to my South West Surrey update No.196 - it’s been a sombre week in Westminster and across the UK following the deeply sad news of the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II after 70 years of selfless service. I attended the wonderful Presentation of Addresses by King Charles III in Westminster Hall on Monday where I am proud to say the wooden roof, supplied from Farnham Park many centuries ago, looked magnificent. I focus exclusively on Her Majesty this week.

PERSONAL TRIBUTE

When talking about grief, Freud commented that people often know whom they have lost but not what they have lost. If you are to come to terms with a bereavement he thought it was vital to understand the ‘what’ as much as the ‘who.’

That is surely true of the death of Her Majesty the Queen. We all feel sadness at the loss of someone we all felt we knew and was part of our identity. We also feel pride at the long life of someone deeply respected not just on these shores but around the world. But part of the grief is not just the shock of losing someone familiar but also fear about losing the values she stood for.

As a government minister I often thought about leadership - the quality that makes some able to inspire and others wish to follow. The name that most crossed my mind most often was Margaret Thatcher whose courage and conviction I always believed did so much to transform our country. But there is another type of leader, someone who leads not so much by the problems they valiantly solve but by the example they set.

That type of leadership was once described to me by a monk in China as ‘leadership through values.’ Nelson Mandela demonstrated that because the most important thing about him was not what he did as President of South Africa but the forgiveness and reconciliation he espoused. President Obama was another - the fact that he became President was far more important than anything he actually changed in office.

Her Majesty the Queen also demonstrated leadership through her values. Some may consider a hereditary monarchy an absurd notion by today’s standards. Yet somehow the stillness that a constitutional monarchy provides at the heart of our constitution keeps the gladiatorial combat of modern politics in perspective - both making it possible but also containing it.

Despite the fact that the Queen had no control over our political futures, I have never seen grown men quake so much as in her presence. On the many occasions I met her, both one on one and in Privy Council meetings, she was thoughtful, amusing and self-deprecating. What was fascinating was the way she acquired her authority not because she decided laws or could send people to the Tower. Instead she earned it through her wisdom, experience and the values she stood for.

For me the most important of those values was service. In an age when we have become very self-absorbed, constantly fretting about our personal well-being and mental health, she showed that the most reliable path to happiness is through the happiness of others. Rather unfashionably she stood for faith, duty and service. She lived those values so demonstrably that she secured the future of the monarchy, which an extraordinary four fifths of us support. But she also inspired millions with those same values as a role model despite leading very different lives.

I have no doubt King Charles will do the same. I have not met anyone more passionate to change the world for the better (although it was always chilly going to Clarence House in the winter because his concern for climate change meant he refused to have the heating on). He has spent his life trying to make a difference. But as he said so movingly in his first address to the nation, he knows he must now do this as a unifier rather than an agitator. We are incredibly lucky to have in him someone who has thought so long and hard about his role - and that continuity with his mother’s selfless service will continue to be the rock we need as a country in these turbulent times.

MY MOST TERRIFYING ENCOUNTER WITH HER MAJESTY

As Culture Secretary responsible for the Olympics, I dispensed with official cars as a cost-cutting measure. On one occasion I was asked to attend an audience with Her Majesty at 12 noon to brief her on the progress of the Olympics. I set off on foot down the Mall from Trafalgar Square, but went to the wrong entrance. Time was running out but there were throngs of tourists around the gates of Buckingham Palace whom I had to fight my way through. I barely resisted shouting, John Cleese-style, ‘Get out of my way I have an audience with THE QUEEN…’ I probably looked a bit like John Cleese too with all my huffing and puffing. I finally arrived at the entrance to her private drawing room at 11.59. We had a lovely - and very personal - chat without a murmur about the nearly late start. A month later I met the Queen’s Private Secretary. ‘That was cutting it a bit fine wasn’t it?’ he commented to me. ‘Has anyone ever been late for the Queen before?’ I replied gingerly. He paused for a moment and
then replied firmly ‘No I don’t think they have.’ What a relief that (dis)honour befell not me but Donald Trump a few years later when he really was late for tea with the Queen.

THE QUEEN OUT & ABOUT IN SURREY

OPENING THE ROYAL SURREY The Royal Surrey of course hasn’t always been located next to Surrey Research Park - it actually started life on Farnham Road in 1863. But it was Her Majesty, alongside Prince Philip, who opened The Royal Surrey County Hospital as we know it today in February 1981- just a year after I had started at Charterhouse. Whilst at the 520-bed District General Hospital, The Queen did her level best to cheer the patients she met whilst visiting the wards with nurses and hospital staff and unveiled a plaque (which you can still see today) to mark the occasion.

OPENING THE VETERINARY CENTRE AT THE UNIVERSITY More recently in October 2015, the late Queen and Prince Philip opened The School of Veterinary Medicine at The University of Surrey. After touring the school, they met with university staff and students in The Large Animal Clinical Skills Building and observed a demonstration in the Biomechanics Laboratory with our very own Supervet Professor Noel Fitzpatrick, who introduced them to dogs who had undergone prosthetic limb surgery and were well on the road to recovery thanks to cutting edge technology. As true animal lovers, I’m sure The Queen and His Royal Highness thoroughly enjoyed meeting the four-legged patients, along with Joey - a puppet from Michael Morpurgo’s well known screenplay War Horse.

CHARTERHOUSE VISITS The Queen also visited my alma mater Charterhouse twice - firstly in November 1972 to inspect the plans for the school’s new buildings and lay the laying of the foundation stone of the new boarding houses and again in February 1997 for the official opening of the Queen’s Sports Centre, enjoyed by many SW Surrey residents today including the Hunt family who go there for tennis and climbing. Following this second visit, and at Her Majesty’s request, the Royal visit was marked by an extra day being added to Exeat, since known as ‘Queen’s Exeat’.

AND FINALLY… Thursday was a day of mixed emotions for Ray & Tricia Pont from Godalming ([link removed]) , as they were two of the last people to receive a hand-signed card from The Queen, congratulating them on their Diamond wedding anniversary. Ray & Tricia - congratulations, and I’m sure you’ll both cherish this special card for years to come.

ONE LAST THING… If you are unable to queue to pay your respects to the late Queen at Westminster Hall this week, you might like to send a message of condolence to The Royal Family, which you can do online here. ([link removed])

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Promoted by Sean Donovan-Smith on behalf of Jeremy Hunt MP and South West Surrey Conservatives, all at 2 Royal Parade, Tilford Road, Hindhead, Surrey GU26 6TD.

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