§ 3.38 p.m.
§ Baroness Jay of PaddingtonMy Lords, I beg to move the first Motion standing in my name on the Order Paper. It is a privilege to move the Motion on this unique occasion. I am sure that I shall not be 375 challenged if I say that Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother is held in unique affection and esteem by the whole nation.
§ Baroness Jay of PaddingtonMy Lords, her forthcoming 100th birthday is the occasion for much celebration and it prompts us all to think back over the many remarkable events which have punctuated her long and interesting life.
When Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon agreed to marry the Duke of York, she could not have guessed that she would one day become the Queen. There will be noble Lords here this afternoon who remember the turbulent time when the Duke of York succeeded to the throne as George VI. Many more will remember the support and confidence Queen Elizabeth gave her husband, particularly in the perilous days of war which were to follow.
We have all seen images of the young Queen and her husband visiting bomb-damaged sites in London during the Blitz. Radiating hope and cheerfulness, she set about the task of lifting spirits, and strengthening the nation's resolve. Countless hearts were won by her unflagging sympathy, the warmth of her character, and the kindness of her smile. In the years that have followed, her smile has become her trademark. Her late Private Secretary, Sir Martin Gilliat, always recalled that when he came each morning to discuss her programme for the day Her Majesty's infectious enthusiasm for every event raised his morale in the face of what was often an extremely heavy schedule of public engagements. That enthusiasm and attentive personal interest is always mentioned by anyone who has met the Queen Mother in any circumstance.
So many people have experienced Her Majesty's personal warmth in so many circumstances because her range of personal interests is very wide and her Royal duties, even in recent years, very extensive. My right honourable friend the Prime Minister reminded another place earlier this week that Her Majesty gives support to some 350 organisations as patron or president—charities, voluntary bodies and other organisations in a vast tapestry of public service.
I remember her vivacious involvement in the work of the National Association of Leagues of Hospital and Community Friends when I was its national chairman. Recently the present chairman, the noble Baroness, Lady Miller of Hendon, was received by Her Majesty at Clarence House at a happy occasion to mark the Hospital Friends' 200th birthday.
The Queen Mother's concerns spread right across society, sometimes, perhaps, into unexpected quarters. My father, the noble Lord, Lord Callaghan, for example, recalls her constant enquiries over many years about the coal mining industry and the wellbeing of mining communities, communities where she always appreciated hearing the opinions of the miners themselves, given to her straightforwardly in unvarnished direct terms, something for which of course Her Majesty herself has been renowned.
376 The personal focus of Her Majesty's life has been her family. As a wife, a mother, a grandmother, and a great grandmother, she has strengthened and guided the Royal Family through the changing world of the past century, with her wise counsel and strong sense of public duty. In all her years of public life, that sense of public duty has never faltered for a moment. We remember Queen Elizabeth's presence at so many public events. We remember her representing this country abroad, and receiving particularly warm affection and good wishes in the numerous countries of the Commonwealth. Just this week, we remember her at the service of thanksgiving in St Paul's Cathedral, where her indomitable spirit was so clearly visible.
We now look forward to further celebrations. There will be parades, parties, and tributes as the nation joins together with the Royal Family to mark this unique anniversary. I know that all of your Lordships will wish to join together to thank Her Majesty for a lifetime of service, and to wish her much joy and happiness and a very happy 100th birthday on 4th August.
Moved, That an humble Address be presented to Her Majesty The Queen as follows—
Most Gracious Sovereign, We, Your Majesty's most dutiful and loyal subjects, the Lords Spiritual and Temporal in Parliament assembled, beg leave to assure Your Majesty that this House looks forward eagerly to the 100th Birthday of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, an occasion which the entire nation will wish to celebrate:
To convey to Your Majesty the admiration and the deep sense of affection that is felt for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, both by this House and by the British people and the Commonwealth, to whose service she has devoted so much of her life:
To express the hope that Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother may long continue to enjoy good health and happiness.—(Baroness Jay of Paddington.)
§ Lord StrathclydeMy Lords, it is an immense privilege for me to have the honour to associate myself fully, on behalf of the Opposition Benches, with the tribute that the Leader of the House has paid to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, and to support the Motion that a message should be sent from your Lordships' House conveying our warmest congratulations to Her Majesty on the occasion of her forthcoming 100th birthday.
Quite rightly, the Motion speaks of the admiration and deep affection in which Her Majesty is held, not only in this House, but across the four parts of this Kingdom and throughout the Commonwealth. No one who had the privilege, as I did, of being present at both the Guildhall two weeks ago and in St Paul's Cathedral on Tuesday of this week, could doubt the immense respect and devotion this quite remarkable and truly gracious lady inspires.
377 The Motion before us speaks of some 64 years of service. It is indeed 64 years since Her Majesty and her late husband the King were thrust so unexpectedly to the head of the nation's affairs. But of course she had become a focus of affection even before that as Duchess of York. The measure of her service and her unswerving sense of duty runs back over 75 years.
Is it not extraordinary to think that when Her Majesty first sat alongside the Throne at the State Opening of Parliament, she did so as Empress of India? Stalin's purges raged in a now vanished Soviet Union and Stanley Baldwin stood at the Bar of the House as Prime Minister. It was truly another world. Her Majesty has lived through a maelstrom of change. Yet across all those years she herself has never changed. She has remained a pillar of stability, good humour, a joy to all those millions whose lives she has touched and graced with her sparkle and charm. She has known testing times, but she has never wavered. She shared without hesitation the grief and the danger of the poorest during the blitz. She devoted herself tirelessly and unstintingly to public duty—an unfashionable concept to some, but one that this House has always honoured and recognised above all else.
It is not for me to recite Her Majesty's achievements or her litany of service. They are written in the hearts of the British people and in the annals of countless charities, voluntary bodies and service organisations across the land. They and we give her the most heartfelt thanks. So it is with the very greatest pleasure that I support wholeheartedly the two Motions that stand before the House.
§ Lord Rodgers of Quarry BankMy Lords, on behalf of these Benches it is my duty and pleasure to support the Motion standing in the name of the noble Baroness the Leader of the House.
Many hundreds of men and women, from all walks of life, will reach 100 years of age this year. They will have served their communities and country well, often with distinction and from modest beginnings. And we remember them. But the Queen Mother has a special place in the life of the nation, particularly, as the Leader of the House said, in the difficult circumstance of the accession to the Throne of her husband, King George VI, as well as in wartime. It is wholly appropriate that we should mark her forthcoming birthday in this way, recognising the warm affection in which she is so widely held.
§ Lord Craig of RadleyMy Lords, it is a great privilege for me to speak to this Motion. All Cross-Bench Peers would wish to be associated with the warmth and sincerity of the loyal message, and to add their heartfelt congratulations to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth.
Ten years ago it was my duty as Chief of the Defence Staff, and a great privilege, to be standing on the royal dais at Her Majesty's side as she received the tributes on Horse Guards Parade to mark her 90th birthday. She enjoyed every minute of it for it was a grand occasion, devised by that master of grand occasions, Major Michael Parker.
378 As the many military and civilian groups paraded before Her Majesty, she kept asking me details about them. I could manage the military questions, but the range of Her Majesty's interests and patronage knows no bounds. I was soon not always able to help as we watched over 50 civilian groups go past to honour her. They ranged from members of the Poultry Club and the Dachshund Club, together with their animals, to the august Honourable Society of the Middle Temple and Fellows of the Royal Society.
Following three cheers for Her Majesty we completed the evening by everyone singing,
Will ye no come back again?Better lo'ed ye canna be,Will ye no come back again?".It was very moving. This summer that wish has been granted. Her Majesty is back. Indeed, she has never left the public eye, undertaking many engagements and bringing pleasure and grace to every occasion. How right, in his speech in your Lordships' Chamber on the humble Address to mark Her Majesty's ninetieth birthday, was the late Lord Runcie who said that Her Majesty had consistently chosen a life of service rather than one of retirement.Next week an even more wonderful tribute, devised once again by Major Parker, and numerous other events, have been arranged to celebrate the birthday of a very special and much loved lady. This afternoon, Cross-Bench Peers join all sides of your Lordships' House in expressing their profound admiration and affection for Her Majesty the Queen Mother. She has served her country and the Commonwealth quite simply majestically.
The Archbishop of CanterburyMy Lords, from these Benches I convey the warm support of the Lords Spiritual for this Motion, to which, of course, I add my own heartfelt congratulations. I was privileged to take part in the thanksgiving service in St Paul's Cathedral on Tuesday when we celebrated all that Her Majesty The Queen Mother has meant, and continues to mean, to so many people around the world, in the Commonwealth and to us all in this House. It was an occasion of great joy which I am sure will be echoed in the days ahead.
Many tributes have already been paid here and elsewhere and many more will rightly follow as we approach the date of Her Majesty's hundredth birthday next month. The sheer number and variety of these tributes affirm her worth and how deeply the Queen Mother's marvellous example of service and duty has resonated with generations of admirers and well-wishers. We appreciate the way in which she has borne the burdens of public service with charm and dignity and admire her unfailing commitment and love of life. It is a love that has been returned with love.
I hope that noble Lords will permit me to touch, as they would expect, on one aspect of this rich pattern of service, her faith in almighty God. Her dedicated and wholly unpretentious devotion to the truths of the Christian gospel has been a rich source of strength. It has helped to sustain her both through the personal joys and sadness of a long life lived to the full. As I said 379 on Tuesday, it has suffused her sense of duty and commitment to others. In a life that has witnessed so many changes I know that it remains a source of strength to draw upon those Christian values that remain timeless. In this hundredth year we give thanks to Almighty God for Her Majesty the Queen Mother, for her public service and devotion to duty.
On Question, Motion agreed to nemine dissentiente and it was ordered that the Address be presented to her Majesty by the Captain of the Gentlemen at Arms.