Depths of grief: Truss, Starmer, Johnson, May and Harman lead tributes to Queen in sombre Parliament
Prime minister Liz Truss, her predecessors Boris Johnson and Theresa May, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer and Mother of the House Harriet Harman, led heartfelt tributes to Her Majesty the Queen in Parliament today.
MPs and peers gathered at Parliament to pay tribute to the Queen this afternoon, all wearing black in a show of respect.
Speaker Lindsay Hoyle opened proceedings on Friday afternoon by speaking of the country’s “memories of a noble, gracious lady.”
Prime Minister Liz Truss also said the news had brought life to a pause, describing the monarch as “the rock on which modern Britain has been built.”
Truss, who met with the Queen to be appointed earlier this week in the monarch’s last act of public duty, said she had spoken to King Charles III last night.
“Even as he mourns his sense of duty and service is clear,” she said. “We owe him our loyalty and devotion.”
“The crown endures, our nation endures and in that spirit I say God save the King.”
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said while the moment was a “deep and private loss” for the Royal Family, it was one the nation all shared as the Queen “created a special personal relationship with us all.”
“That relationship was built on the attributes that defined her reign, her total commitment to service and duty, her deep devotion to the country, the Commonwealth and the people she loved,” he added.
Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the monarch’s “indomitably, humour, work ethic and sense of history” were what “together made her Elizabeth the Great.”
“I think our shock is keener today because we are coming to understand in her death, what she did for us all,” he added.
In the country’s “depths of grief”, it had been made clear “why we loved her so much,” he concluded.
The Queen was the most inspirational world leader, according to former Prime Minister Theresa May.
“She was Queen but she embodied us. Across the nations of the world and for so many people, meeting Queen Elizabeth simply made her day, and for many was the memory of their life,” May said.