HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN (RETURN FROM WEST AFRICA) (Hansard, 7 December 1961)

§ The Prime Minister (Mr. Harold Macmillan)
I beg to move, That an humble Address be presented to Her Majesty, assuring Her Majesty of the loyal and affectionate welcome of this House to Her Majesty, on the occasion of Her return from Her tour of West Africa with His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh. I am sure that this Motion will commend itself to the House. A month ago, on the eve of Her Majesty's departure for West Africa, the House joined me in sending her our warmest good wishes for the success of her tour and a safe return.
Now the Queen is safely back with us. I venture to say that of the many journeys which she and His Royal Highness have so tirelessly undertaken, none has been crowned with greater success than this. In the space of four short weeks, Her Majesty and her husband have visited two independent members of the Commonwealth, one territory yet a dependency of the United Kingdom, one friendly foreign country, and passed through another.
1553 Those who have had the pleasure of seeing for themselves something of the lands and peoples of West Africa will not have been surprised at the generous warmth of the reception given to Her Majesty and Prince Philip, a welcome at once respectful yet genial, formal yet friendly.
This is not the occasion for me to attempt to forecast the effects in the long term of Her Majesty's tour, but this I would confidently say, that the affection towards Her Majesty, so warmly demonstrated and strengthened by her presence, will be a powerful and living memory in the hearts of the people of West Africa. Nor shall we in this country forget the welcome given to the Queen as Head of the Commonwealth.
The tireless devotion shown by Her Majesty and His Royal Highness to their wide ranging, and, it seems, expanding duties, and their quiet and unspectacular courage, are an inspiration to us all. His Royal Highness is now in Tanganyika attending the celebration of yet another independent member of the Commonwealth.
We welcome back Her Majesty and assure her and His Royal Highness of our loyalty and affection, and our grateful thanks.

§ Mr. Hugh Gaitskell (Leeds, South)
I am happy to support the Motion proposed by the Prime Minister, and to associate my right hon. and hon. Friends and myself with what he said. It is always a pleasure to welcome back the Queen from these Commonwealth tours, but there are special reasons why we do so on this occasion. There was some anxiety before she went, and although our fears were much allayed before she went to Ghana, nevertheless we are glad that they have proved to be quite unfounded.
We are also glad, once again, to record the excellent work she has done in 1554 the Commonwealth on this tour as on so many others, and hope, also, that in the course of these last days and weeks she managed to find a little time to enjoy herself not only watching dancing, but actually dancing a "high-life" herself.

§ Mr. J. Grimond (Orkney and Shetland)
May I, on behalf of myself and my colleagues, support the Motion? We join the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition in congratulating Her Majesty and the Duke of Edinburgh on a most successful and exhausting tour, and welcome them home.

§ Mr. Martin Lindsay (Solihull)
I feel strongly that somebody should take this opportunity of paying tribute to the courage of my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister and his colleagues in recommending that this tour should go forward, which must have been a very difficult decision to come to in the circumstances, and also paying tribute to the right hon. Gentleman the Leader of the Opposition for the staunch way in which he associated himself with that decision.

§ Mr. Marcus Lipton (Brixton)
May I, respectfully and briefly, support the Motion? I do so for this reason, that I think it is well that we should recall almost the first words used by Her Majesty when she arrived in Ghana and was welcomed by about 50,000 Ghanaians. She said: This family of nations, embracing peoples in all continents and of all races and creeds, is one to which we are all proud to belong.