‘She touched so many lives’

Preet Kaur Gill, Labour MP for Birmingham Edgbaston:

My parents came from the Commonwealth, and growing up, we had lots of memorabilia in my house of the Queen. Whether it was my grandmother or my mother, they absolutely recognised her as the head of the state. When she became the Queen, the Commonwealth members were just about seven, and that’s risen to 56 under her reign. It just shows that she’s touched so many millions of people’s lives.

I had the honour of being able to take my mother to a tea party at Buckingham Palace, and the one thing she said to me is, ‘I can’t believe, given her age, that her public service is just amazing’.

She was that unifying link between our nations. She has said

the Commonwealth is an example of multilateralism at work. The amount of respect she got across Africa, for example, it’s because of her ability to carry out the service to our nation and being able to visit places. She has been one of the greatest diplomats.