Sarah Green – 2022 Tribute to HM Queen Elizabeth II
The tribute made by Sarah Green, the Liberal Democrat MP for Chesham and Amersham, in the House of Commons on 10 September 2022.
It is an honour to rise today to pay tribute to Her late Majesty on behalf of my constituents in Chesham and Amersham.
As we know, the late Queen came to the throne having seen the torment and consequences of war, at a time when she was still grieving for a much loved father and consoling her own mother. We are honouring someone who epitomised service and fulfilled a promise made over seven decades ago. I know that I am not the only one humbled by her continued adherence to that promise throughout her extraordinary life.
Here was a woman who had a talent for connecting with people even if they had never met her. One constituent told me how he can remember waving flags as a young child at her coronation in 1953, and this year we came together once again to celebrate her platinum jubilee. Indeed, the person who lit the beacon in Chalfont St Peter was chosen from the select group of people who had lived in the village consistently since the Queen came to the throne in 1952. Attending those jubilee events, it was absolutely clear just how well loved Her late Majesty was throughout Chesham and Amersham. I was told of her visit to us in 1985 as the patron of the Epilepsy Society, when she was greeted by a group of 1,200 schoolchildren.
Another constituent got in touch this morning to share his memory of witnessing the Queen going to thank Lord Salisbury for organising the flotilla on the Thames. He said:
“I saw a rough, tough Forester with tears streaming down his cheeks; mothers and children hugging after exchanging a few words with Her Majesty and she bestowed a cheeky grin with a shrug of her shoulders on me just before climbing into the helicopter.”
It is these fond and often deeply personal memories that so many people have to share that is so striking.
While we remember Her late Majesty, I am mindful of the fact that His Majesty King Charles has come to the throne while grieving for his mother. I hope the knowledge that His Majesty’s loss is shared by so many brings some comfort to him and the royal family. May she rest in peace, and God save the King.
