Today we mourn the passing of our remarkable late sovereign, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
Her death has been felt across the country, the Commonwealth, and the world. My thoughts and prayers are with the Royal Family at this time of grief.
For over seventy years, Queen Elizabeth II dedicated her life to serving the British people and the Commonwealth. She travelled the country and the world extensively, inventing the royal ‘walkabout’ so she could personally greet a huge variety of people. She also championed the development of the Commonwealth from a group of seven countries to an association of 56 nations spanning every continent of the world.
As our head of state, Queen Elizabeth II worked with 15 Prime Ministers and, even in the final days of her life, she remained determined to carry out her duties by appointing our new Prime Minister.
Queen Elizabeth II gave us a sense of stability and a point of unity through decades of immense change. She was loved and admired by people across the world. She leaves behind an extraordinary legacy, as our longest monarch and the greatest public servant of our time.
The Crown has now passed to our new head of state, His Majesty King Charles III. As we mourn, we must come together as a people to support him.
God Save the King.