Today the full Court of Common Council met in Guildhall to pay tribute to Her late Majesty, and send a message of condoleance to His Majesty King Charles III. A range of Councillors and Alderman shared personal experiences and praised Her late Majesty for her public service. Representing the Ward of Cheap I was honoured to emphasise the importance of our late Queen on the world stage, and the privellege I felt as a ‘boy coming from a small village in the Dutch countryside’ to stand on the steps of the Royal Exchange to welcome our new King.
My Lord Mayor
It is with great sadness and a feeling of immense loss that I join other honourable Members of this Court in rising today. We have all felt the outpouring of love, affection, and admiration for our late Queen Elizabeth the Second over the last few days.
At home, and abroad.
From the President of the United States, leaders of the European Union to the Prime Ministers of Canada and Australia, and the President of South Africa. It is clear how much Her late Majesty was respected worldwide.
As President Emanuel Macron described it so elegantly – addressing the British people directly:
“To you she was your Queen. To us she was THE Queen.”
Our late Queen Elizabeth the Second throughout her 70 years of public service played an essential role representing the United Kingdom on the world stage. She was our beacon, representing continuity in a rapidly changing world.
And…
as we found out at the 2012 London Olympic Games, when she joined James Bond, Her Majesty was also our secret diplomatic envoy.
Lord Mayor, following love, I moved to this great City, to this great nation, 18 years ago.
In 2017, I had the honour to swear allegiance to HM the Queen, her heirs, and her successors, as a new British citizen.
This weekend this same boy, from a small village in the Dutch countryside, had the greatest honour of his life.
Representing the citizens of the Ward of Cheap, joining other Members of this honourable Court, as we reflected on the long life of duty and service by our late Queen Elizabeth the Second, and we welcomed the accession to the throne of her heir, His Majesty King Charles the Third.
It is with admiration we look back, and with hope we look forward to the future.
My Lord Mayor
Tijs BROEKE - Common Councillor for the Ward of Cheap 