Commons Sitting of 25 March 1953

Preamble
The House met at Half past Two o'Clock
PRAYERS
[Mr. SPEAKER in the Chair]
DEATH OF HER MAJESTY QUEEN MARY

  Motion for Address of Sympathy
  The Prime Minister (Mr. Winston Churchill): I beg to move,
  "That an humble Address be presented to Her Majesty to express the heartfelt sympathy of this House in the great sorrow which Her Majesty has sustained by the death of Her Majesty Queen Mary, and to condole with Her Majesty on this melancholy occasion;
  To assure Her Majesty that we shall ever hold in affectionate and grateful remembrance the love which Queen Mary inspired in all peoples of this land and her devoted service to their welfare, and that we share fully in the universal feeling of sympathy with Her Majesty in her grievous loss."
  The address to the Crown which it is my sorrowful duty to propose is no mere formal expression of sympathy from this House. Queen Mary, by her personality, her example and her bearing over so many years, had endeared herself to the whole people of these islands and throughout the vast regions of the Commonwealth and Empire.
  There has not, in living memory, been a figure more widely known or more universally honoured. Wherever she went, she was assured of an applause which sprang from a deep-seated affection and respect. She looked a Queen: she acted like a Queen: her death leaves a void in our hearts and in the life of the nation —a void which it will be hard indeed to fill.
  Sir, when King George V came to the Throne he was confronted almost immediately by political and constitutional problems of a gravity and complexity which has fortunately been unequalled in the history of the Monarchy in recent times. Hardly had these been surmounted, or partly surmounted, when they were overwhelmed by the fury of
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  the First World War. During these unceasing ordeals, in which the King acquitted himself so wisely and so well, he was immeasurably strengthened by the support and comfort for which he could always look to Queen Mary.
  As the years went by she had to endure many personal sorrows, including the sudden death of three of her five sons. But she never allowed either personal sorrow or public anxiety to interrupt the discharge of her duties and her obligations. With a tireless energy far outstripping those many years younger, she devoted herself to carrying out functions which never exceeded her patience or lost her keen interest.
  In many spheres, particularly those connected with the arts, she acquired a knowledge which the experts admired and often envied. Her lively interest in the theatre was a source of real encouragement to the gifted generation of actors and actresses whom we are fortunate to possess. It may sometimes have been thought that Queen Mary, brought up in an age of conventions more rigid than those that now find acceptance, was intolerant of the changes which she lived to see. This was far from the truth. One of the most remarkable qualities she possessed was her lack of prejudice, and the welcome which she spontaneously gave to young people and to new ideas.
  I am sure that the House will be unanimous in wishing to record its sympathy not only with Her Majesty the Queen, to whom I ask that this Address may be forwarded, but also with Queen Mary's surviving children, the Duke of Windsor, the Duke of Gloucester and the Princess Royal, and with her brother, Lord Athlone, whom she so dearly loved and whose long record of service to the Commonwealth and Empire was always a source of special pride and pleasure to her.
  Mr. C. R. Attlee (Walthamstow, West): I rise to support, on behalf of my right hon. and hon. Friends on this side of the House, the Motion which has been moved in such fitting and eloquent terms by the Prime Minister. We share the sorrow which the whole country feels in the loss of Queen Mary, and we express our deep sympathy with Her Majesty the Queen and all the Members of the Royal Family.

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  The gracious lady whose death we mourn today had, throughout a long life, fulfilled the duties of her exalted station with grace, with charm and with dignity, and the nation saw in her a devoted wife and a devoted mother. For over 60 years, she has had a place in the affections of the people. Indeed, I think that there has never been any Queen who was so beloved by everybody, and I think this was because of her wide sympathy and her extraordinary kindness.
  I find that, in talking with anybody about Queen Mary, I am at once given some instance of her thoughtfulness and kindness, and I know that, in many of the causes in which she was interested, she never took just a perfunctory line. She would visit unexpectedly an institution; she would enter homes, and there must be thousands of people in this country who have that affection for her due to these personal contacts, and, on any occasion, she was sure to be doing what she possibly could to help.
  I remember being very touched when she sent for me to tell me that she desired that the carpet which she worked with her own hands should be sent across the Atlantic to do what she could to help in our dollar difficulties. That was altogether characteristic of her. In the last few years, I had the privilege of seeing her on many occasions. She was a delightful companion, she had a vivid sense of humour and a wide sympathy, and, as the Prime Minister so rightly said, a sympathy with the young and with new things. I am personally indebted to her for very many kindnesses, and I am quite sure that in this Motion we are expressing the views, not only of this House, but of the whole country and the Commonwealth and Empire.
  Mr. J. Grimond: My right hon. Friends, hon. Friends and myself would like to be associated with all that has been said by the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition. We, too, would express our deep sorrow at the death of Queen Mary. We join in supporting this
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  Address, and in offering, with the rest of the House, deep sympathy to Her Majesty the Queen on her loss.
  Lieut-Colonel Walter Elliot: On such an occasion, the tribute of Parliament as a whole is not, I think, complete unless some quarter or another in the House, some back bencher, has spoken, especially in this case when tribute is being paid to a great lady who has been so long and so closely associated with the public life of our country.
  In every aspect, as Royalty, patroness of the arts, and as a representative of the standards of an older generation, she gave us all cause to admire her. For 25 years as a Queen, she faced—with her head never lowered—
  "the fierce light that beats upon a Throne."
  and, as patroness of the arts, we in Scotland well remember her personal interest in the Palace of Holyroodhouse, and her revival of that house as an active Royal residence.
  None of us could enter her presence without being aware both of her dignity and of her forward-looking mind. I well remember that, as one of the representatives of this House, I had the honour of waiting upon her to bring her our condolences on the death of her son, the King. On that occasion, her mind looked not backward but forward to the young Queen who was coming to power. She said, "Perhaps things will be better now." It was for that forward-looking mind, for her hope as well as her dignity, that we did her reverence and do her reverence now.
  Question put, and agreed to, nemine contradicente.
  To be presented by Privy Councillors or Members of Her Majesty's Household.

  ADJOURNMENT
  Resolved, "That this House do now adjourn."—[The Prime Minister.]
  Adjourned accordingly at Twelve Minutes to Three o'clock.