Wera Hobhouse – 2022 Tribute to HM Queen Elizabeth II

The tribute made by Wera Hobhouse, the Liberal Democrat MP for Bath, in the House of Commons on 9 September 2022.

On this sad day, I rise to pay tribute to Her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. We are a nation in mourning, and I know that I speak for my Bath constituents when I say that we will all sorely miss her.

Whether or not we met Her late Majesty in person, we feel that we knew her. She had a personal relationship with all her subjects, and she managed to combine her office as monarch of an ancient and great kingdom with the warmth and personal touch of a wonderful human being. Her great personal qualities of empathy, integrity and humility stood as an example to us all. She of all people could have been pompous, but she never was. She saw herself as a servant all her life. That is rare, and we all owe her a huge debt of gratitude for that unstinting service.

She was not just a British monarch; she was a world leader, renowned and respected throughout the world. I grew up in Hanover, Germany, where there were no monarchs. Everybody was actually rather squeamish about tradition, but given the royal connection between Britain and Hanover, people were perfectly happy to adopt Queen Elizabeth as our Queen. Indeed, when I was young, she was perfectly useful for correcting our manners—“You’d better learn to behave in case you meet the Queen.”

Her undoubtedly impeccable table manners aside, the late Queen represented—to the core—the best of British. In times of great turbulence, she stood as unifier and peacemaker. She clearly loved people and respected each and every individual for who they were. Her legacy must live on as we enter a new chapter. May she rest in peace. Long live the King.