Her Majesty the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee

Lord Taylor of Holbeach Excerpts

Thursday 26th May 2022 Lords Chamber

[Lord Taylor of Holbeach (Con)]

My Lords, I am delighted to follow the noble Lord, Lord Shipley. Like him, I did not excel on the sports field at the time of the Coronation and I failed to participate in any of the activities that were organised in Holbeach at that time, but I did get my New Testament, and my mug. I still have them and I treasure them; there is a lovely dedication in the front of the New Testament, which I very much treasure. I thank my noble friend the Lord Privy Seal for setting up this debate today so that we have an opportunity of paying tribute to our Queen.

This is an unprecedented event: 70 years our sovereign. There is one thing certain and sure: none of us here is going to see such an event again. Who would have been able to envisage the pattern of events that our own lives would see and how our national life would change, when we saw those images of the young woman stepping down the aircraft steps, drawn away prematurely from her visit to Kenya, to be greeted, among others, by Prime Minister Churchill? What a period of transition it has been, as the noble and learned Lord, Lord Judge, said—more than we could have imagined at the time. We have the Commonwealth, which she has assisted to be a force for good in the world, a world in which travel and mobility are the experience of all. Let us go back to that fuzzy black and white image on our small black and white television screen in an overlarge veneer cabinet: who could have foreseen multi-channel colour TV, overtaken in turn by the computer, by the internet, by social media, by mobile communications? We live in very different times.

During those times, as many noble Lords have pointed out, the presence of Her Majesty the Queen has been a reassurance for us, for our nation and for the Commonwealth. We all speak from a position of privilege in this House, but I thought I would talk from personal experience of a time before I came to this place, which indeed has brought me very much pleasure and satisfaction. I have been fortunate to have been a member of the Royal Household—the noble Lord, Lord Newby, and I were colleagues together—as a Whip and as Chief Whip in this place. I have loved my Palace duties and the pleasure that state visits have brought. The way that her Majesty has dealt with different Heads of State is quite remarkable. Many here will know her better than I do, but take my word for it if you do not: she is a delightful person to know.

She loves horses, but she adores gardens and flowers too. In this regard, I have some personal experience because, 37 and a half years ago, my family was appointed to the warrant holders as bulb growers to Her Majesty. Since medieval times, suppliers to the Royal Household have been warranted. There is nothing grand about this, but more than 800 individuals and companies are warrant holders, big and small, high-tech and low-tech. The Queen’s role in encouraging excellence through this system has been remarkable. Since 1840, there has been a Royal Warrant Holders Association and I am a great believer that sociability is a huge advantage to human progress. We learn so much from each other. My brother Roger is the grantee of the warrant, and he and the rest of us have benefited much from the encouragement and companionship of others in the Royal Warrant Holders Association. It has been the source which our Queen has given to ensure excellence in many different trades and, like the Queen’s awards for industry and for export, has played a part in keeping businesses modern and competitive.

I end by saying that throughout her 70 years on the Throne of this country, she has shown faith, constancy and determination. She is a pattern for public duty and service which we in this House, I know, seek to follow. Meanwhile, let us enjoy the celebrations.