Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

Debate between Baroness Neville-Jones and Lord Wei

Saturday 10th September 2022 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Neville-Jones (Con)]

My Lords, I think the noble Lord, Lord Coaker, spoke for us all when he pointed to the moral courage our late sovereign showed.

When I debated with myself about whether I would speak in these tributes to Her late Majesty the Queen, I found that I had an absolutely overwhelming desire to say thank you for her life of service, and her dedication to the welfare of the United Kingdom and to the well-being of its inhabitants. There have been many outstanding contributions. Given the hour, I will not fall into the habit of insisting on repeating all these sentiments myself, but I must say that I agree with what this House feels about the contribution the Queen made to our national life and destiny.

The Queen brought good cheer—one of her characteristics. I am old enough to have known another sovereign. I was 12 when the Queen ascended to the throne. Britain was a pretty grey place. Something lifted. First of all, we saw the wonderful dress she wore, which was made with an incalculable number of pearls that came from various parts of what was then still the empire to be sewn into it. From this rather grey world we began to see something that was rather lovely and cheery. She was very beautiful. It was a great occasion. My family, like many in the United Kingdom, bought its first television set to watch the proceedings. So she started with a tremendous show, which I think greatly improved the morale and general happiness of our society.

The other thing I want to say about the way she behaved over all these years is that she was a tremendous force for inclusion in our society. Little people mattered to her—that was widely and instinctively understood and much appreciated by the general public. Very ordinary people have been saying these very complimentary things about her, and are spontaneously repaying the compliment by covering the boundaries of Buckingham Palace, Balmoral and the grass of Green Park with a carpet of flowers. I do not know whether noble Lords have seen them on the television; it is extraordinary.

We also witnessed something else. Not only did people see that the Queen represented us collectively, which they much appreciated, but many in this society felt they had an individual connection with her. They did not know her in the conventional sense, but she connected with us, and put a lot of effort into doing so. One should not imagine that this is somehow a gift handed to you—you have to work at it. It is hard work to make connections, but she most certainly did. That is one of the reasons why she was also so effective in the Commonwealth. People understood that she had thought about them and the situation, and here was the contribution she was willing to make.

Many Members of the House have recounted stories of personal encounters with the Queen. I am not among those who could claim to have known her, though I did meet her. On one occasion, there was a private sitting at which I was present—a birthday party where we were both guests. It was held in the London aquarium. As she arrived, the Queen looked round at the colourful goldfish in the tanks near the entrance. “I haven’t been here before”, she said. I happened to be standing just near her, and said “Your Majesty, when you get much further into this place, you will find that it contains a lot of sharks.” “Oh”, she said, “How like real life”.

I will make just one more point. Like most Members of the House, I watched His Majesty the King speak last night, when he made his own public tribute to his mother and talked to us about his future role. He made some very perceptive comments and important commitments on how he would seek to act. Some Members have said they think the Queen will be a hard act to follow. I am sure that that is right, but I thought that our new monarch had all the empathy that will be needed for him to be an extraordinary, commanding presence in the country and that he will communicate with us as effectively as his mother. God save the King.

[Lord Wei (Con)]

My Lords, what else is there to say after so many heartfelt, excellent and eloquent tributes both in this Chamber and beyond? Upon her passing, as ever in life, our late Queen brings out the best in us, inspiring us to be our better selves and to fulfil our duty, despite the turbulence around us. Her departure has stopped time, as we mark the end of an era, and united the world as leaders around it pay their respects, whether friend or foe. We will never see anyone like her again and we will miss her desperately.

Many have remarked on how important her faith was in all she did. As a follower of Jesus, I would go further and say she was a steadfast believer, not just because she would go to services, or because she was the head of our established Church, but because she genuinely believed in Christ, in the promise of eternal life for those who put their hope in Him and in His Lordship—Christ at whose feet it has been said she longed to cast her crown when they finally met. Because He died for her and for us, laying down His life as a servant king for us, forgiving us our sins, so too she felt she could devote her life to serving us as a servant Queen, bringing reconciliation where it was needed.

Our late Queen knew that, even if she might not be able to change things directly, constrained by the constitution and a watching media, God could intervene divinely, just as He did for one of her ancestors, Queen Victoria. Their and their heirs’ prayers have protected these isles—I believe miraculously—from invasion, collapse and whatever crises we have faced. We would do well to follow their example, crying out to our Lord to heal this land and meet us in our time of need.