FORMER Prime Minister Theresa May, MP for Maidenhead, has paid tribute to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in parliament on Friday, September 9.
Ms May addressed members gathering to pay respects, saying: “My thoughts and prayers are with King Charles III, and with the whole of the royal family.
“And I also remember the close members of the royal household.
“Queen Elizabeth the Second was quite simply the most remarkable person I have ever met.”
Her address continued:
“I am sometimes asked among all the world leaders I met, who was the most impressive and I have no hesitation in saying that from all the heads of state and government, the most impressive person I met was her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second.
“She gave a lifetime of service as she promised to do when she was 21 – her selfless devotion to duty was an inspiration to example to us all.
“She was respected and loved, not just here in the United Kingdom, and in other realms in the Commonwealth, but across the world.”
“And that love respect and admiration was born not out of her position but because of the person she wants, a woman of dignity and grace, of compassion and warmth, of mystery, and joy, of wisdom and experience and who had a deep understanding of people.
“Like so many, until last evening, I have never known another monarch.”
“She was a constant throughout our lives always there for us, uniting us at times of difficulty, and as others have said most recently during code when she gave us hope that we would want some more come together.
“Her passing marks a generational change, not just because of the length of her service, but because of what she lived through.
“When we marked the 70th anniversary of the D-Day landings in 2019, She was with the world leaders not just as Queen, but as someone who had worn uniform during the Second World War and experience which, quite apart from anything else, had taught her how to strip an engine.
“The queen was always interested in people when she walked into a room the faces of those present lit up, including during what was one of her last, if not the last appearance, she made in public when she came to hospice in my Maidenhead constituency in July.
“The moment she walked through the door, the atmosphere in the room changed. You felt the love and respect of the people there for her.
“And as she spoke to staff and patients, she exuded a warmth and humanity which puts people at their use. She was Queen, but she embodied us, across the nations of the world with so many people meeting Queen Elizabeth the Second names that day and for many will be the memory of their life.
“Of course for those of us who had the honour to serve as one of her prime ministers, those meetings were more frequent with the weekly audiences.
“These were not meetings with a high and mighty monarch, but a conversation with a woman of experience and knowledge and immense wisdom. They were also the one meeting I went to which I knew would not be briefed out.”
“What made those audiences so special was the understanding the Queen had of issues which came from the work she put into her red boxes, combined with her years of experience.
“She knew the world leaders in some cases she thought she was a wise and adroit judge of people. The conversations of the audiences was special, and she was a thoughtful in her stance.
“She would take an interest in what books were put in your room, and she didn’t always expect to be the centre of attention. She was quite happy sometimes to sit playing her part with patience while others were mingling around her chatting to each other.
“My husband said at the time that he had a dream. He dreamt that he was sitting in the back of a Range Rover being driven around an estate,
“And the driver was Her Majesty the Queen and the passenger seat was occupied by his wife, the Prime Minister , and then he woke up and realised it was reality.
“I remember one picnic at Balmoral, which was taking place in one of the boxes on the estate. The hampers came from the castle that we all looked into, put the food and drink out on the table. I picked up some cheese put it on a plate and was transferring it to the table. The cheese fell on the floor.
“I had split second decision to make. I picked up the cheese, and I put it on the plate, and put it on the table. I turned around to see that my every move was being watched very carefully by Her Majesty.
“I looked at her, she looked at me, and she just smiled and the cheese remained on the table.
“This is indeed a sad day but it is also a day of celebration of a life well spent in the service of others. There have been many words of tribute and superlatives used to describe and they plan to see Queen Elizabeth the second.
“But these are not hype. They are entirely justified. She was our longest-serving monarch. She was respected around the world, United our nation in times of trouble.
“She joined in our celebrations with joy and a mischievous smile.
“She gave an example to us all of faith of service of duty of dignity, of decency. She was remarkable, and I doubt we will ever see her like again.
“May she rest in peace.”
