THE MARRIAGE OF PRINCESS ELIZABETH: ADDRESS OF CONGRATULATION. (Hansard, 22 October 1947)

§ THE MARQUESS OF SALISBURY
My Lords, I beg to associate myself, on behalf of those who sit on these Benches, with the humble Address of congratulation to His Majesty on the forthcoming marriage of Princess Elizabeth. My Lords, only too often in this House we have to deal with matters of controversy which cause divisions of view between us. To-day, happily, we are united in heart and mind. All Parties in this country are at one in loyalty and devotion to the Throne. All regard it as the keystone of our country and of the British Commonwealth of Nations. Our beloved King and Queen and their family live ever in the hearts of their people; we mourn with them in 85 their sorrows, we rejoice with them in their happiness. To-day, we celebrate, as the Lord Chancellor has already said, a forthcoming event of equal import to them and to us. The marriage of the Heir Apparent to the Throne is always of vital concern to the peoples of these islands and of the Empire, for on it may depend the whole course of history for many generations to come. By a happy and united family life the monarch may set, as our own King and Queen have set, a shining example to their people. We already know how fortunate we are in our Princess—her grace, her charm, that deep sense of public duty which she has inherited from her parents, have, as the Lord Chancellor has said, endeared her to us all. She has chosen for her husband a Prince who has shown, by his service to this country during the war, just those qualities of courage and resolution which are most necessary in a leader of men. My Lords, we wish them all happiness and every blessing, and we express our loyal congratulations to His Majesty on this so happy an event. May it still further enrich the pages of the long history of our country.

§ VISCOUNT SAMUEL
My Lords, on behalf of noble Lords on these Benches I desire to add my voice in support of the Resolution now before the House. Among the historical paintings on the walls of the House of Commons portion of these buildings is one which depicts Queen Elizabeth receiving a deputation from that House which had come to ask her to marry. Had she done so, the history of England in the seventeenth century might have been different and less troubled. Now that another Elizabeth is Heir to the Throne we are glad to think that there is no need for Parliamentary intervention in so personal a matter. The Princess is about to marry, and the nation is happy in her choice because she herself is happy. As the Lord Chancellor has said, we all listened to the address which Princess Elizabeth delivered in South Africa on her twenty-first birthday, which, thanks to the most astonishing of all inventions of the modern age, could be heard in every home in this country. Then the Princess, in earnest and moving words, dedicated her life to the service of the Commonwealth and declared the principles which she had resolved should guide her. Already she had won our affection. That 86 address won our confidence, and this betrothal has confirmed it.
Looking at the present state of many countries of Europe and of the world, we realize how fortunate has been the history of our own country and of the British Dominions in that we have been saved from the headship of State becoming a prize to be won by some Party leader through the defeat of his opponents. Our Constitutional Monarchy, consistent in every particular with the full liberties of free democracy, ensures for us, at the summit of our social system, continuity, stability and impartiality. The House of Lords, ever loyal to the Throne, now offer to Their Majesties and to the Princess the expression of their complete and profound satisfaction at this event. Passing from the language of State to the humanities which bind us all together, we may be permitted also to offer to the young bride and bridegroom our affectionate good wishes that they may enjoy throughout their lives all the blessings that a happy home can give.

§ LORD TEVIOT
My Lords, on behalf of noble Lords in your Lordships' House belonging to the National Liberal Parly, I wish most heartily to endorse everything that has been said by my noble friend the Leader of the Opposition, on this great occasion, and I would add just this in all loyalty and respect. Your Lordships may remember that Robert Louis Stevenson said these words: "There is no duty so often neglected as the duty of being happy." This duty is most nobly carried out by our Royal Family. Wherever they go they bring an atmosphere of happiness, whether they are visiting the sick or those in distress or participating, as now, in an occasion for rejoicing. On behalf of noble Lords of this Party, I tender most loyal good wishes to Her Royal Highness and her fiancé. Their lives, by the nature of things, will be strenuous. May the sun shine on them and a blue sky cover them all their days.

THE LORD ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY
My Lords, I must apologize for the fact that, as I was delayed for a few minutes, I arrived a little late, and so did not hear what the noble and learned Viscount, the Lord Chancellor, said by way of invitation to 87 myself to join in presenting this loyal Address to His Majesty. May I say now that I am greatly honoured to accept that invitation. In a few words, I would wish to associate myself with the tributes that have already been paid in respect of this Resolution and to do that in no kind of formal sense. The marriage of one who stands next in succession to the Throne cannot but be of very great moment to all His Majesty's subjects here and overseas. It is a sure instinct of our people that those who hold great positions of responsibility in the State can only render their service faithfully and fully if it is based on the secure foundations of domestic virtue and domestic happiness. It matters much to us that this Royal marriage should offer not only a prospect of public advantage but also essentially a true prospect of domestic felicity. And it is because we can be assured of both those conditions that, as loyalty and respectful affection require, we can wholeheartedly express our happiness and our congratulations.
This assurance rests upon four things at least. The first is this: that this marriage has the approbation of their Majesties the King and Queen. They know the true meaning of home life at its best, most gracious and most sacred. They care deeply for such things for themselves and for their daughters. Their own experience and their own example—which mean more than can be easily expressed, for this nation as a whole—make them good judges in such a matter, and their approbation can carry ours. But, secondly, this is a marriage which springs not primarily, or at all, from reasons of State. It is no politically arranged marriage such as the past once knew. It springs from a true accord of hearts between two young persons who have grown up together, knowing each other well, and have made their own decisions. And that is the best of all grounds for our assurance. In the third place, the bridegroom comes naturally and giftedly to this high position, combining princely lineage, British education and citizenship, fine character and an honourable record of service in that calling which particularly holds the affections of the British people.
Finally, our assurance rests in the Princess herself, She has grown into the loyal regard and affection of us all. We have seen it happening before our eyes.
88 I remember very vividly the profound impression which the Princess made on the supposedly hard-headed and even hard-hearted men in the City when she, with singular simplicity, modesty and grace, received the freedom of the City and addressed the City Fathers. The comments from those supposedly hard-headed and hard-hearted citizens afterwards were most profoundly moving. And if the Princess has won the trust of the older generation she has made herself in a particular sense the leader of her own young generation, with which she shared the experiences of the war and shared employment in war service. She has won that leadership by her own qualities, her own quick sympathies, her own alert interests, and, not least, by the fact that she has a mind and a will and a clear character of her own. As the noble and learned Viscount, the Lord Chancellor, has said, we have all been, more than once, profoundly moved by the way in which she has dedicated herself and called upon her own generation to dedicate themselves with her to the lifelong service of our country and our Commonwealth. So, as we trust, domestic happiness and the public weal will be conjoined in this union. In these sombre days here is cause to thank God for happiness unalloyed, in an event dear to the heart of every human being and completely rooted in this nation's loyalty and life.
On Question, Motion agreed to nemine dissentiente.
Ordered, That the said Address be presented to His Majesty by the Lord Archbishop of Canterbury, the Lord Privy Seal (Viscount Addison), the Marquess of Salisbury and the Viscount Samuel.