Queen Elizabeth II
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In light of recent events, and how we have all be mourning her death, I thought I would dedicate this month's newsletter to Her Majesty the late Queen Elizabeth II.
The Queen's death is an enormous loss for us all. She has been a constant presence in all our lives. Seventy years on the throne made her the longest-serving monarch in our history. As we reflect on the Elizabethan age, we remember her as a guiding light of duty, service and unity.
May The Queen rest in peace and rise in glory.
God Save The King.
The day after receiving the sad news, tributes were heard in the House of Commons. As I sat listening, it became clear that Her Majesty has extraordinary reach. Almost everyone had a personal memory. In my own tribute on behalf of my North Oxfordshire constituents, I remembered her address to the nation during the pandemic when, resplendent in her NHS scrub coloured dress and brooch, Her Majesty praised “the attributes of self-discipline, of quiet good-humoured resolve and of fellow-feeling,” of our people.
These are all qualities she modelled for us and for which we loved her. To them, she added a less definable quality: a presence, a splendour which came from her deep faith and her certainty that the Crown is at the very centre of our constitution.
Her Majesty lit up every room; I will not forget the day she came to Oxfordshire in 2008. Hundreds of people filled the Market Place in Banbury waving flags, including lots of excited school children, as she helped us mark the 400th anniversary of the town’s Charter. Later that day, I met her as she opened the Oxford Children’s Hospital.
In her we see a reflection of our own passions which is why we all feel such a deep and personal sense of loss.
As we grieved for one monarch, we welcomed the reign of another whose own sense of duty is in the best traditions of his mother and his country. On Saturday 10 September, His Majesty King Charles III was proclaimed at the Accession Council at St James’s Palace in London, a historic moment which was televised for the first time. The following day, towns and cities across Britain made their own proclamation to the new king marking a new Carolean age.
It was good to attend the Banbury Proclamation which took place at the Town Hall. High Steward of Banbury, and my predecessor, the Rt Hon Sir Tony Baldry led the reading with several hundred in attendance. We then managed the National Anthem with the new unfamiliar words, followed by three cheers for the new King.
It was extraordinary to be in Westminster Hall to hear King Charles III address both Houses of Parliament for the first time as monarch on Monday 12 September. His Majesty spoke very clearly about the enduring example of selfless duty set by his mother. He was visibly moved when we sang God Save The King. The past few days will not have been easy for him, but he has undertaken his duties with strength and stoicism.
I have no doubt that His Majesty will bring the same sense of duty and service to the throne as his late mother.
Attending the Lying-In-State on Friday 16 September was an event I’ll never forget. The silence in the vastness of Westminster Hall was extraordinary. More than 250,000 mourners filed past The Queen’s coffin over the five-day period to pay their final respects, each feeling a very personal connection.
My thoughts were with the Royal Family yesterday at Her Majesty’s State Funeral. I was moved by the magnificence of the procession and the sheer number of people that lined the streets to celebrate her extraordinary reign and remarkable life. I think we all sensed just how historic this moment was.
Following a day of pageantry, the committal service at St George’s Chapel at Windsor marked Her Majesty’s final farewell which concluded with her being laid to rest beside her late husband The Duke of Edinburgh.
I think we would all agree that, after a very public ten days, the Royal Family are able to mourn privately over the next week.
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