HL Deb 16 November 1972 vol 336 cc807-13

3.7 p.m.

THE LORD PRIVY SEAL (EARL JELLICOE) rose to move, That an humble Address be presented to Her Majesty The Queen to congratulate Her Majesty and His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh on the occasion of the twenty-fifth Anniversary of their Wedding, to express the deep gratitude of this House for their contribution to the affairs of the nation and for their unfailing example in public and family life, and to convey every good wish for their continued happiness. The noble Earl said: My Lords, it is with humble duty—to use the old and happily still valid phrase—that I have the honour to move the Motion standing in my name. Both Houses of Parliament presented Addresses on the occasion of the Silver Wedding of Her Majesty's Grandparents, and indeed of Her Father and Mother, the late and greatly loved King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, now our greatly loved Queen Mother. She must derive a very particular pleasure from this happy occasion which we shall be celebrating shortly.

Six months before the Silver Wedding of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth this House submitted an humble Address of congratulation on "the approaching marriage of Her Royal Highness, to Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten", and in that Address we expressed the satisfaction of this House on an event which promised "to secure the happiness of Her Royal Highness". I think we all felt that when the time came for her to Succeed (and we did not know then how soon that time would be) it was right that Her Royal Highness should not be asked to withstand alone "the fierce light that beats upon the Throne". My Lords, that marriage which we now commemorate has indeed secured the happiness which we then hoped for. Moreover, it has been a happiness not only for Her Majesty, His Royal Highness and their family, but also, by extension, for this country as a whole, for the Commonwealth and for many other countries outside our immediate family circle of nations.

A Silver Wedding is above all a family occasion, and it is fitting that this Silver Wedding is one which is being celebrated in a particularly close and united family. It is my belief that the family life of our Sovereign constitutes one of the main bonds which has strengthened what my noble friend Lord Blake described in moving the humble Address as, the free, friendly…yet basically kind social order which prevails in Britain. My Lords, it is almost a truism to-day to say that we live in an era of rapid, almost revolutionary, change. And it would seem almost a paradox that in these circumstances the Monarchy should, as I would opine, have never been more secure than it is to-day. The explanation for this seeming paradox is of course easy to find. It lies in the shining example which the Royal Family have given of family unity and, above all, of dedicated service to our fellow countrymen. This service is manifest in all areas of our national life, from the proudest State occasion to the most informal and humdrum sporting event. Indeed, my Lords, there are few nooks and crannies of our national life which our Royal Family have not explored.

As we know from the gracious Speech, Her Majesty and His Royal Highness are to visit Canada and Australia in their Silver Wedding year. They will not be going abroad, since they will be on home territory. The same love and respect which we feel in this country for Her Majesty and His Royal Highness are also felt by the Queen's subjects across the Atlantic and in the wide Pacific. All this the world well knows. But fewer, perhaps, know well the extraordinary impact of Her Majesty in representing the United Kingdom to countries other than the Commonwealth, whether on a visit, as recently to Yugoslavia, or as host in this country to the President of Italy last year or to the President of Germany only a few weeks ago. We are lucky to have in the Queen and in Prince Philip ambassadors for our nation of quite exceptional quality.

We can also, I believe, count ourselves fortunate as a nation that the succession is so firmly secured in the hearts of our people in the persons of the Prince of Wales, Princess Anne and the two younger Princes. It is clear that the Prince of Wales—and I know that your Lordships are gratified at his attendance from time to time in your Lordships' House—possesses his father's capacity for direct, penetrating and witty commentaries on the contemporary scene. It is also clear that both the Prince of Wales and Princess Anne feel a deep involvement over a wide spectrum of our national affairs. Not the least perhaps of the great services which the Royal Family renders to the nation is that it helps to bridge the generation gap in our country.

My Lords, I am sure that I am echoing the wish of all your Lordships when, in conclusion, I express the hope that in another 25 years a future Leader of your Lordships' House will have the honour of moving a further Address to Her Majesty and Prince Philip on their Golden Wedding.

When the then Lord Chancellor, Lord Jowitt, moved the Address at the time of the forthcoming marriage, he concluded by saying: In view of the very special and intimate nature of this Resolution, I would suggest to your Lordships that, departing from our usual precedent, it would be fitting that the Resolution should be presented…by the Leaders of the various Parties…and…the Archbishop of Canterbury."—[OFFICIAL REPORT, 22/10/47; col. 84.]

This precedent was followed for the Silver Wedding Address six months later, and I hope I have your Lordships' agreement that we should follow that good example on this occasion. My Lords, I beg to move.

Moved, That an humble Address be presented to Her Majesty The Queen to congratulate Her Majesty and His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh on the occasion of the twenty-fifth Anniversary of their Wedding, to express the deep gratitude of this House for their contribution to the affairs of the nation and for their unfailing example in public and family life, and to convey every good wish for their continued happiness.—(Earl Jellicoe.)

3.13 p.m.

LORD SHACKLETON

My Lords, in rising to support the Motion moved by the noble Earl, I can say little in addition to what he has said in relation to the feelings of every Member of your Lordships' House; and when I echo his phrase "it is with humble duty" that I support this Motion, I would add that it is not only with humble duty but with the greatest satisfaction, a satisfaction which is shared throughout the House.

I would remind your Lordships of the terms of the Motion, which not only congratulates Her Majesty and His Royal Highness on the occasion of the twenty-fifth Anniversary of their Wedding but expresses also the deep gratitude of this House for their contribution to the affairs of the nation and their unfailing example in public and family life. It is a fact of which we need to remind ourselves that we have been uniquely fortunate in our Royal Family. It is a remarkable thing that in this fairly restless age there is probably less criticism of the institution of Royalty and of the present holders than there has been at any time in our history. If one compares some of the criticism, particularly in the last century, with the absence of any real criticism and the acceptance and admiration which is felt by nearly every citizen in the land, that is a measure of their achievement.

The reason for this is not only the modesty with which they approach their task, their willingness always both to uphold their position and to behave like ordinary people in their dealings with ordinary people, but the fact that we know they work tremendously hard and are motivated all the time by this sense of public duty. A friend of mine, seeing the Queen the other day on a television programme, made a remark which I believe describes her contribution very accurately. He said, "She is a great public servant". Mixed no doubt with the interest and happiness of their family life, often spent under very pleasant conditions, must be what I can only consider is the incredible tedium of many of the duties which they so manfully bear, smiling and making everybody happy. The work that we put upon the Royal Family is remarkably onerous and their willingness to meet those obligations calls forth our deep gratitude. It is unquestionably a happy Family, and the House appreciated the noble Earl's reference to the presence of the Prince of Wales. Not the least of the achievements of Her Majesty and the Duke of Edinburgh is to have produced such extraordinarily nice and intelligent children. It must always be a great anxiety to bring up the Heir to the Throne and not all Monarchs have been so successful in it; but here an additional ground for congratulation is that in the Prince of Wales and the rest of the Family we have such delightful and, I may say, intelligent young people.

My Lords, the noble Earl, very properly, referred to the service of the Royal Family to the Commonwealth. It is worth recalling that the Queen first heard the news of her Accession while she was in a Commonwealth country, in Kenya, when she had to assume these onerous and demanding duties. I am happy to say that for the most part in the flood of memoirs of conversations there has been little about the relations between Prime Ministers and Her Majesty and between Ministers and Her Majesty, and it is worth recording that those of us who have had the privilege of serving as Ministers of the Crown have always been met not only with great courtesy and kindness but with interested sympathy which I am convinced is as genuine as everything else that Her Majesty and His Royal Highness do. Therefore it is with a degree of satisfaction which has not been surpassed in our history, and as a really genuine expression of opinion, that I now so gladly support the Motion moved by the noble Earl.

3.19 p.m.

LORD BYERS

My Lords, I also wish, with humble duty and great sincerity, to support on behalf of my noble friends on the Liberal Benches the Motion which has been so ably proposed by the noble Earl, the Leader of the House. As he said, a Silver Wedding is indeed a family affair and an important milestone in a marriage. I am glad to say that my wife and I celebrated our own Silver Wedding shortly after I joined the House eight years ago, and in common with many other families of our generation we have had the great pleasure of watching the growing up and maturing of the young members of the Royal Family, particularly His Royal Highness Prince Charles and Princess Anne.

There is no doubt that the way in which the Monarchy in its totality has adapted itself to the very rapidly changing circumstances of the last quarter of a century while maintaining standards of a very high order has given a confidence and reassurance which has contributed a great deal to our social stability. Her Majesty, Prince Philip and the whole family have shown over these none too easy years a sense of dedication and duty which it is almost impossible to praise too highly. I think we are very fortunate indeed to have this family at the head of our nation. They are not just "Royals"; they are very human, sympathetic people. Moreover, they are blessed with a resilient sense of humour without which I doubt whether they could carry out the multiplicity of duties which they have to perform. For these attributes it is right that the nation should salute them and give thanks on this great occasion. I beg to support the Motion.

3.21 p.m.

THE LORD BISHOP OF LONDON

My Lords, it is my privilege on behalf of the Lords Spiritual to support the Motion so happily moved by the noble Earl. We who sit on these Benches know at first hand, as we go about our dioceses, not only the affection which there is in countless homes for Her Majesty and for Prince Philip but also the immense influence of the example of their happy family life. It is sometimes asserted that a happy marriage has no news value. Whether that is true as a generalisation may be doubted, but it is most definitely not true of the life of Her Majesty and His Royal Highness. Their example gives encouragement and inspiration to innumerable families throughout the land. For this we thank God, as we also thank God for the example of ceaseless devotion to public duty which they give and for the way in which they care not only for causes but also for people. A family, as we have been reminded, is not just parents but parents and children, and our gratitude to Her Majesty and to the Duke of Edinburgh is joined with our gratitude for the example of the Royal Family as a whole: for the fine public service already being given by their Royal Highnesses the Prince of Wales and the Princess Anne, and for the obvious family affection which they all have for each other, so happily symbolised in the photographs in the Press last week of the Prince of Wales romping with his younger brothers.

A Silver Wedding, as has been said, is essentially an occasion to be celebrated within the circle of the family, and we are therefore grateful that Her Majesty and his Royal Highness are willing to share their private happiness with the nation on this occasion. We shall support them at the service in the Abbey with our prayers for their continued happiness. We shall show our gratitude with acclamation in Guildhall and elsewhere. But more: I believe, my Lords, behind this humble Address all of us, as individuals, with our humble duty thank them for what they do, for the example which they set the nation; and above all else we thank God for what they are. I beg to support the Motion.

On Question, Motion agreed to, nemine dissentiente.

Ordered, That the said Address be presented to Her Majesty by the Lord Archbishop of Canterbury, the Lord Chancellor, the Lord Privy Seal (Earl Jellicoe), the Lord Shackleton and the Lord Byers.