Queen served with devotion: Acting British High Commissioner Welsh
Acting British High Commissioner Paul Welsh says that for over 70 years, Queen Elizabeth II served the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth with devotion and dedication.
Mr Welsh made this comment while speaking at the memorial service for the late Queen at the Holy Trinity Anglican Church in Suva.
The memorial church service was attended by the President Ratu Wiliame Katonivere, political party leaders and diplomats.
Mr Welsh said her majesty touched the hearts and lives of millions of people across the world,
“No words can fully describe the extent of our nation’s loss,” he said.
“We mourn Her Majesty as if she were a member of our own families. I vividly remember the celebrations and street parties in 1977 to mark Her Majesty’s Silver Jubilee.
“I remember her annual Christmas messages when the nation would go quiet at 3pm to watch and to listen. I remember my first meeting with Her Majesty in Zimbabwe in 1991.
“As many others have observed, Her Majesty made everyone to whom she spoke, feel as though they were the most important person in the world. That is a rare gift indeed,” he said.
He said Her Majesty was the embodiment of grace, charm and dignity, as well as a role model of forgiveness and reconciliation.
“Her strength and unswerving sense of duty has been a true inspiration, even in the toughest of times. Her Majesty visited Fiji on six occasions,” he said.
“The first being on her Coronation Tour in 1953 and her final visit being in 1982. Many of you will have many memories of the Queen’s visits.
“I think of her drinking a bilo of kava during her coronation tour in 1953, receiving a bouquet of flowers from a young Adi Kainona in 1963, arriving into Suva Harbour on the Royal Yacht Britannia during her Silver Jubilee Tour in 1977 or visiting the chiefly Island of Bau in 1992.
“The Queen always had a smile on her face when in Fiji. She enjoyed the warmth of Fijian hospitality and the smiley Bula spirit,” he said.
He said nothing made a British diplomat prouder than to serve their diplomat in chief, the irreplaceable Queen Elizabeth II.