Balmoral tales bring laughter to the House
MPs packed the Commons yesterday to pay tribute to the Queen, with many standing several deep and even sitting on the floor.
They observed a minute’s silence and hailed her life of service to the nation and her statesmanship, as well as sharing anecdotes of her warmth, sense of humour and love of family, nature and animals.
The Prime Minister was one of several MPs to praise the Queen’s leadership in the pandemic.
Liz Truss said ‘she gave us hope that we would meet again during the darkest moments’, adding: ‘she knew this generation of Britons would be as strong as any.’
Her predecessor Boris Johnson delivered a moving tribute to ‘Elizabeth the Great’, while another former resident of No 10, Theresa May, had the House laughing with a story illustrating the Queen as ‘down to earth and a woman of common sense’.
While the former prime minister was being hosted at Balmoral in scotland, she attended a picnic with Her Majesty – and ended up facing a tricky decision concerning some cheese.
Mrs May said: ‘Hampers came from the castle and we all mucked in. I picked up some cheese and put it on a plate, and was transferring it to the table. The cheese fell on the floor. I had a split-second decision to make.
‘I picked up the cheese and put it on the plate and put it on the table. I turned around to see that my every move was being watched very carefully by Her Majesty the Queen.
‘I looked at her, she looked at me and she just smiled. And the cheese remained on the table.’
Opposition leader sir Keir starmer reflected on the personal relationship the Queen had with her subjects.
He said: ‘For the 70 glorious years of her reign, our Queen was at the heart of this nation’s life.
‘she did not simply reign over us, she lived alongside us. she shared in our hopes and our fears, our joy and our pain, our good times and our bad.’
He recalled how she inspired the nation during the pandemic, saying: ‘Covid closed the front doors of every home in the country. It made our life smaller and more remote, but she was able to reach beyond that to reassure and steel us.’
Matt Hancock, the former health secretary, hailed the Queen as ‘the greatest statesman of all time’, as he praised her for ‘taking the rare step of going public with her health status when declaring that she’d taken a vaccination’ during the pandemic and for ‘giving the country hope in dark times’.
Tory MP Andrea Leadsom gave a humorous insight into the Queen’s personal life, as she told of a visit of the Privy Council to sandringham one January.
‘I recall the Queen saying what a busy Christmas she’d had, and I suggested at least her family don’t need to pause Christmas lunch for the Queen’s speech,’ she said.
‘At which point, she told me they most certainly did! As for all of us, her family would pause their lunch and watch the Queen’s speech. she told me Princess Charlotte had run over to the screen and said: “Look! There’s Gan Gan!”’
Labour MP Harriet Harman, mother of the House of Commons, said: ‘The relationship between our Queen and Parliament was never just on paper, but was always active and always encouraging.
‘she radiated British values of duty, patriotism, internationalism, charity and service. But while she embodied British values, she never intervened in politics – and that is constitutional alchemy.’
Beyond Westminster, former prime minister Gordon Brown said: ‘Most of all, what shone through was her complete and utter dedication to the country and to the constitution. We will all miss her greatly.’
The Queen reigned for 57 complete sessions of Parliament and oversaw 18 general elections and 15 prime ministers.
‘At the heart of this nation’s life’