Her Majesty the Queen

Gerald Howarth Excerpts

Wednesday 9th September 2015 Commons Chamber

[Sir Gerald Howarth (Aldershot) (Con)]

I contribute to this tribute to Her Majesty with some trepidation, but as the Member responsible for the home of the British Army I hope that I might be allowed to say just a few words.

Her Majesty has been an absolute inspiration to our armed forces and her leadership and commitment to her duty has served our armed forces well. I endorse everything that the Prime Minister said, as I am sure we all do. She has been the embodiment of duty. When I look at my own diary, as I am sure we all do, and find that I have an invitation to that great event in the Aldershot constituency social calendar, the Farnborough donkey derby on bank holiday Monday, and when I consult Lady Howarth and ask whether we should go to the donkey derby, and she says, “But we went there last year,” I say, “And Her Majesty does all sorts of things every single year.” Her Majesty has done a fantastic service to this nation.

Every coin of the realm proclaims that Her Majesty is Queen, but there are two other letters and most of our people do not know what those two letters mean. They are FD. She may be the First Lord of the Treasury above my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister, but they do not stand for finance director. They stand for Fidei Defensor—Defender of the Faith. I think Her Majesty has lived up to her coronation oath more faithfully than any former sovereign of this realm, and she has been an inspiration to us in her faith.

All of us sit down at Christmas time and enjoy Her Majesty’s Christmas message not just to us and our constituents, but to the entire Commonwealth and the world. It is her faith which shines through unequivocally but quietly in her Christmas message, and it is her faith which has given her the strength to do all that she has done for our country. We should be a very grateful nation indeed to be served by a sovereign of such faith and commitment as Elizabeth II.