‘She respected differences’

Valerie Vaz, Labour MP for Walsall South: It was a privilege to have met the Queen as member of Parliament for Walsall South, especially when I was admitted as a member of the Privy Council.

Our Queen carried out all her duties with dignity, grace and love for us and her country and yet embraced different countries and cultures through the Commonwealth while always respecting differences, dealing with changes, acknowledging past mistakes, knowing life and history moves on.

“As the head of the Commonwealth, she knew and supported the peoples and countries of the subcontinent very well. She had the ability to speak to you as though you had always known her – whether to a winning jockey or a little girl with a

posy or working until the end welcoming her 15th prime minister. Like all of us, she knew life is a roller coaster, but she never complained and only ever mentioned one year as an “annus horribilis”.

I know King Charles III, who has been active in supporting his mother’s work, will carry on in a similar way. The King has been open to finding out about other faiths and communities, and I am sure will continue to champion all the UK citizens.