Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

Debate between Lord Young of Norwood Green and Baroness Rock

Saturday 10th September 2022 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Rock (Con)]

My Lords, we all share profound and deep sadness at the passing of the Her Majesty the Queen. We are indebted to her for her life of service, her dignity and her devotion to public duty. As we in this House treasure our personal memories, I remember my first meeting with Her late Majesty. I was 11 years old and I presented her with flowers in Westminster Abbey. Her warmth and smile on that day, to a little girl from Dorset in total awe of the occasion, is a memory I cherish.

Throughout her life, Her Majesty had profound love for and interest in the countryside and a deep commitment to farming communities across our great nation. As His Majesty the King was proclaimed today, our thoughts and prayers are with His Majesty, the Queen Consort and our beloved Royal Family. As a trustee of his countryside fund, I am privileged to see at first hand His Majesty the King’s deep commitment to our rural communities and farmers. His leadership on the natural environment and climate change have proved prescient. His vision of family farms, tenant farmers and rural communities fulfilling their role in creating a sustainable future for a thriving countryside that is there for everyone is without equal.

As we enter our Carolean age, we treasure Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s legacy and welcome His Majesty Charles III’s reign with sovereign constancy. His Majesty, with his wisdom and passion, cares so deeply for those without a voice. We flourished under our Queen, and we will flourish under our King. God save the King.

[Lord Young of Norwood Green (Lab)]

My Lords, I too welcome the opportunity to pay tribute to Her Majesty. My first memory is from when I was about five years old. There was no television in our house but a radio, and I can remember—probably on the Home Service, because I think there was nothing else—that there was silence and, every now and then, a rather sombre message: “The King has died”. My next memory of the Queen is of the coronation in 1953. I remember standing there with my elder sister, waving our flags; it was a great occasion. In my radical youth I was probably in favour of abolition, but as I got a bit older and thought about the alternatives, I abandoned that stance.

I met her twice. On one occasion I asked the equerry whether it would be okay to talk to her about apprenticeships and training. He said yes, of course it would. I would not go so far as to say that I was pleasantly surprised, but she was enthusiastic and understood the importance of training her staff. That was a good example of her attitude and approach.

I was a member of the Armed Forces pay review group, and we were returning from a visit to Iraq. For some reason the Queen’s plane was available and we were on it. We were being given first-class service by the steward, who was carrying his tray of canapés and delightful drinks. I asked him, “What’s it like when Her Majesty’s on board?” He said, “It is a bit tricky when six corgis are running up and down the gangway”. That struck me as an interesting situation.

I was employed in the GPO as a telecoms engineer—noble Lords may wonder what the connection is—and my boss at the time was the Postmaster-General, Tony Benn. He got it into his head that it would be a really good idea if he came up with a new stamp design that did not include the Queen’s head. Fortunately, the Queen had to approve every new issue of stamps, and I think I can say that when he met the Queen, she certainly was not amused—so that one did not get through.

I was struck by an article in the Times yesterday by Gerard Baker, a rather tough American writer. He concluded it by saying that we have lost a monarch but the world has lost a Queen, which I thought was a very nice tribute.

King Charles has a really hard act to follow, but I think we all agree that yesterday he made a very good start in both what he said and the way he said it. I have not always agreed with everything that King Charles has enthused about, shall we say, but one thing that gains my admiration—there is more than one—is the Prince’s Trust, which does such good work in getting young people into employment. I wish him every success for the future. Given the start he made yesterday, I am sure he will live up to that challenge.