William Wragg – 2022 Tribute to HM Queen Elizabeth II

The tribute made by William Wragg, the Conservative MP for Hazel Grove, in the House of Commons on 9 September 2022.

If I was asked by primary school children, “Did you ever meet Her late Majesty the Queen?”, I would sadly have to say no—there has been no practising of bows and curtsies as my hon. Friend the Member for Chatham and Aylesford (Tracey Crouch) described. Perhaps I have finally learned this afternoon the attraction of being a Government Whip: not only does it seem to increase the likelihood of being called early in a debate such as this, but they certainly got to spend a great deal of time with Her late Majesty.

Bagehot described our easily understood constitution as the distinction between the dignified and the efficient. Supposedly, the efficient is the Government, but I will let new Ministers discover that in due course. The dignified is the monarch, of whom there can be no greater embodiment than Her late Majesty.

Much has been said of anecdotes, but I will briefly quote from Her Majesty’s Christmas broadcast in 1974, because what she said then more or less sums up where we are today. She said:

“Here in Britain…we hear a great deal about our troubles, about discord and dissension and about the uncertainty of our future. Perhaps we make too much of what is wrong and too little of what is right. The trouble with gloom is that it feeds upon itself and depression causes more depression. There are indeed real dangers and there are real fears and we will never overcome them if we turn against each other with angry accusations. We may hold different points of view but it is in times of stress and difficulty that we most need to remember that we have much more in common than there is dividing us.”

May Her late Majesty rest in peace. May God console her family in their time of grief. May God save the King.