I hope everyone can come together to celebrate Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee next weekend. The Queen has given a lifetime of public service and we have been lucky to have her presiding over our great nation. As a Princess during the second world war she served with the territorials as a driver and mechanic. Since she took the throne in 1952 we have witnessed great change in our society and she has been a constant and consummate public servant throughout. In many respects the quiet and unfussy approach to public service is a product of another age. We see it when our proud dignified veterans attend Remembrance day every year to pay their respects. It is miles away from the self indulgence of modern day celebrity. Whilst the Prince of Wales and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge do their best to uphold the best public service traditions, the demands for the Royal Family to become soap opera continue. If we are to protect and sustain our Monarchy we need also to do our bit to maintain and defend it. Her Majesty the Queen is the last guardian of our rights and liberties. The weekly audience she has with the Prime Minister is to advise and to warn. These meetings have been viewed with reverence and respect by the three Prime Ministers I have worked with and her counsel is always wise. So we give thanks for the service of Her Majesty Elizabeth II.
I look forward to our borough having lasting tributes to the two Queen Elizabeth's who led our great nation. We must commemorate Queen Elizabeth I’s famous speech at Tilbury and we must celebrate the reign of Elizabeth the Great.