Ed Davey, Leader of the Liberal Democrats, paid tribute to Her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in Parliament.
The deep mourning across the country now – just like the celebrations of her Jubilee a few months ago – comes not from a sense of duty, but from genuine and heartfelt affection, love and admiration of Her Majesty. It's not because we were her subjects, but because she was truly our Queen. What she meant to us is perhaps best summed up by a phrase on so many people’s lips over the last twenty-four hours:
“I can’t imagine our country without her.”
For almost everyone in the country, she has been there our
whole lives. At times of national grief and national jubilation, she has never
not been there for us. So it is hard to accept that she is gone. And hard to
see how we go on without her.
But we will. Our great United Kingdom has a great future –
because The Queen’s spirit of strength, grace and resolve lives on in her people.
One of the greatest privileges of being a Member of this House was the chance
to meet Her Majesty. Like when she visited Kingston on the occasion of her
Golden Jubilee.
Or when I was deeply privileged to sit next to her at lunch
at Windsor Castle. I was initially confused by a silver cylinder beside her
place setting. I wondered to myself what treasures it might hold. I had my
suspicions when, as dessert was served, her beloved Corgis were let in, and
nestled themselves around her feet. And the Queen lifted up the lid of the
cylinder, plucked out some digestive biscuits, and began sneaking them to her
grateful dogs.
Whenever I met her, I was struck by her warmth, her wisdom,
and her humour. And I’m looking forward to hearing similar stories from other
Honourable and Right Honourable Members as they give glimpses of the wonderful
person beneath the Crown.
Her Majesty will be remembered with honour, as the monarch
who guided our country out of the shadow of a terrible war. Who helmed us
calmly through troubled waters. And brought us safely into a new millennium.
And she will be remembered so fondly. As the monarch who
leapt from a helicopter with James Bond. And showed Paddington where she kept
her marmalade sandwiches.
And, for the Royal Family, she will be remembered simply as
a beloved mother, grandmother and great-grandmother. Our thoughts, prayers and
condolences are with them all as they bear this terrible loss.
After a lifetime of dedicated and tireless service to our
country and our Commonwealth, Her Majesty has gone to her eternal rest.
May God rest her soul. And may God save the King.
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