My column this week reflects on the events following the death of Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth and the complex machinery of State which carried out the processes for her Lying in State, her State Funeral and the accession of the new King Charles III during this last ten days of National Mourning.
I was sitting on the National Security Bill Committee when the news came through that The Queen’s doctors were concerned about her health and that she ‘remain under medical supervision’. There was a ripple of concern around the committee room. Later in the afternoon, I led a cross party Back Bench Business Debate in Westminster Hall about the future of coastal communities. We were all rather anxious about Her Late Majesty and, when the debate finished, a group of Conservative MPs met up to watch the television together for the announcement due at 6pm. We all feared the worst and when the announcement came, tears were flowing from many an MP who would not usually show their emotions in public.
The funeral of Queen Elizabeth and associated services and ceremonies had been planned for years. To witness and attend the events of the past 10 days both in person in my capacity as an MP and from afar, as a member of the public, has not simply been overwhelming; it has filled me with enormous pride. Pride and awe in our country, our Royal Family, in the actions of private individuals, the role of our armed forces, and the organisation and planning undertaken by the public sector civil servants. As MPs, we were asked to respect the National Mourning period and engage in casework only, meaning neither I nor my team could respond to policy correspondence or attend any public events, other than those organised in relation to The Queen’s passing. I was delighted, for example, to be invited to attend an excellently organised and fitting Hastings Proclamation of the new King Charles III held at Queen’s Square, attended by hundreds of local residents, and with a moving address by our Hastings Mayor.
The past ten days has not been a time for politics, and certainly not for those who engage in negative and petty politicking. The last few days have shown us what sort of a people and country we not only can be, but who we are; a people who come together in love, in duty, in harmony and in unity. How good and pleasant is that indeed.