Her Majesty The Queen Mother: Humble Address (Hansard, 17 July 1990)

§ Lord Cledwyn of Penrhos
My Lords, it is a pleasure and a privilege to follow the noble Lord the Leader of the House in his felicitous tribute to Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother on the occasion of her 90th birthday. She has earned her place as one of the best-loved public figures of this century and her service to Britain and the Commonwealth has earned her the gratitude and admiration of us all.
She seems to me to have three qualities in abundance; namely, charm, courage and common sense. Most of us here can confirm that her charm has remained constant since we first became aware of her presence all those many years ago. It is not a superficial charm because it relates to her genuine interest in the many thousands of people she has met both here and abroad over the last seven decades. Her insistence in maintaining contact with the people of London throughout the war and comforting them personally created a strong and lasting bond between her and the people of these islands.
751 Her Majesty's courage is of course legendary. She has known great tragedies and overcome them with a calm fortitude which inspired everyone. This country was fortunate when she became Queen in 1936 and there is no doubt that the part she played in sustaining her husband contributed to the stability and popularity of the Monarchy in this country. It was indeed a historic contribution.
I note that in her tribute on Friday, the Prime Minister pointed out that Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother became the first person of English and Scottish parentage to be the Consort of our Sovereign. That is of course true; but perhaps I may remind this House that she is also a descendant of the Welsh patriot, Owain Glyndŵr. That gave Her Majesty the extra sparkle. We still recall her grief at the premature death of King George in 1952. So great a blow at the end of a testing period would have crushed most people but she emerged from that tragedy to play a new role which increased her stature and the affection in which she is held.
Finally, the common sense she so clearly possesses and which she shares with Her Majesty the Queen has been a contributory element in the stability which Britain continues to enjoy in a changing and uncertain world. The Queen Mother reflects the ethos and the aspirations of the British people and it is for all those reasons that we pay her our warmest tribute and wish her health and happiness for many years to come.

§ Lord Jenkins of Hillhead
My Lords, I associate my noble friends with the Motion which has been so excellently moved. I notice, looking back at the Official Report of similar proceedings in 1980 in your Lordships' House, that all three noble Lords who made the party speeches—Lord Soames, Lord Peart and Lord Byers—are no longer with us. But Her Majesty the Queen Mother has triumphantly survived, though certainly not by sparing her devotion to royal duties. On this 90th occasion we salute a life which has been of such inestimable benefit to the state and the nation.
Increasingly as the years have gone by it has been the Queen Mother's radiance as the senior member of the Royal Family which is most prominent in the minds of all of us. However, it is also desirable to cast our minds back, as did the noble Lord, Lord Cledwyn, to the crucial part which she played—perhaps more than any other Queen Consort for several centuries—during the 15 years of the reign of King George VI.
The circumstances of the succession and the looming war did not make the inheritance an easy one in 1936. Her contribution to overcoming those dangers was a considerable one. For example, there were few royal visits which were more beneficial to Britain's true national interest than that which she and King George paid to the Roosevelts at Hyde Park in the summer of 1939. Much more recently, I have had experience in my Oxford capacity of the great benefit of having the Queen Mother as patron of our development campaign. It so happens that my wife is chairman of the National Trust and she also has had the privilege of the Queen Mother as her president.
752 I therefore have fairly direct experience of the infusion of enthusiasm and commitment which the Queen Mother brings to two disparate organisations. We express our deep affection and respect. We hope that she may continue to enjoy life and that we may continue to enjoy the immense benefit of her service and inspiration to the nation for many years to come.

§ Baroness Hylton-Foster
My Lords, the Cross-Bench Peers are both proud and happy to be associated with the message of congratulation to Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother on the occasion of her forthcoming 90th birthday. The Cross-Bench Peers are especially anxious to support all the expressions of congratulation, gratitude and affection as we are honoured to have some of her family on our Benches—that is to say, her eldest grandson and two nephews.
Many on these Benches know of the Queen Mother's interest in every part of national life. Perhaps we may suggest that the Commonwealth is her second family where she is affectionately and informally known as the "Queen Mum". We wish Her Majesty every happiness on her birthday and hope that she will shortly enjoy her family holiday in Scotland.

The Archbishop of Canterbury
My Lords, I wish to associate myself from these Benches warmly and wholeheartedly with the terms of the Motion proposed by the noble Lord the Leader of the House. The gratitude owed in this nation and throughout the Commonwealth to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother is beyond all measure. From the years of the First World War when she worked as an orderly in a military hospital to the present time, she has consistently chosen a life of service rather than one of retirement. The quality of that service is apparent in every visit, every smile and every gesture. No wonder that in the evocative words of the late Sir John Betjeman, waves of goodwill go racing to meet her". At the heart of this unique and greatly loved lady is a deep and sturdy, if unparaded, Christian faith, looking not at the things which are seen but at the things which are unseen. From this faith have flowed the stability that she has offered in a century of breathtaking change; the enrichment she has given to the concept of family; the human face that she has put on the operations of government; the encouragement that she has brought to those in many kinds of deprivation and the confidence she has shown in the future and the rising generations. She has the kind of faith which never seems to exclude but only to enlarge the embrace of human sympathy. She has a spontaneity and zest for life which turns duty into a delight, but never delight into a duty. We thank God for her and pray that she may long give what we all still so much need.