FOR the whole of my life, I have only ever known one Monarch of our country – Queen Elizabeth II.

I suspect this is the same for most readers of this paper.

I also suspect that many readers of this paper were as shocked and saddened as me when they heard the news on the evening of last Thursday that she had died.

Her reign of 70 years has been quite extraordinary. The second Elizabethan era has seen such huge change in our country, and indeed the world.

Technological and social changes have been unprecedented – from the end of empire to the start of the digital age. 

But throughout these highs and lows the one constant has been the Queen.

Whatever event or change that has occurred the Queen has always been there, to demonstrate that life goes on, that our institutions endure, and that there will always be a sense of stability – of which she was the very embodiment.

Which is not to say that the Queen herself didn’t adapt and change and embrace the developments of our country.

She did, and she would often be the guest of honour at some national advancement or other. Who else to switch on the UK’s first ever nuclear power plant right here in Cumbria, but the Queen herself?

The Queen personified service and dedication. She gave her life to serve our country, as well as others, and the Commonwealth as an institution.

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On a personal level, she was always warm, with many stories of her putting people at their ease when she met them. She really did seem to have a connection with all the generations – with children as well as the elderly all lining the streets whenever she made a visit somewhere.

She was assiduously non-political, but a great diplomat and ambassador for our country.

Foreign leaders across the world, no matter how powerful in themselves and whatever their status, all wanted the opportunity to meet our Queen. 

During her reign she appointed 15 Prime Ministers, giving them all confidential advice and support as they carried out their duties and responsibilities.

She was often referred to as the one person a Prime Minister could tell everything to, safe in the knowledge that nothing would be leaked. 

It is the Monarch’s duty to absorb these burdens and to ensure a sense of continuation, not just through their own lifetime, but to the centuries gone by.

And this is exactly what the Queen did so well.

As an MP I had the privilege of attending Parliament last Friday to hear the tributes to the Queen from the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition, and former Prime Ministers – as well as other party leaders.

Without exception they all, in their own ways, captured the greatness and humility of the Queen and could each relate a personal affection they had for her. 

The Chamber of the Commons of course felt solemn and respectful – but there were also so many light-hearted and personable stories to tell.

That was our Queen as Sovereign and Head of State, as well as our Queen as a person who connected with so many people. 

We should mourn Her Majesty and be thankful for her reign. We were lucky to have had her – but we should also acknowledge that an extraordinary epoch, the second Elizabethan era, has ended, and a new one has begun. 

God Save the King.

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