Thank you, Presiding Officer. I'm sure none of us would wish to be here today, but it is truly fitting that we are paying tribute to the Duke of Edinburgh at this tragic time of his passing. We'd much prefer to be on the campaign trail, I'm sure, and the Duke of Edinburgh, obviously, still with Her Majesty the Queen, supporting her in her role like he did for so many years and so many decades. Seventy-three years as a husband, nearly 70 years as a consort—that is a life of public service that I dare say we will never see again.

From the early part of his life, which clearly was a life of trauma, where he was stateless at a very young age, being rescued from Greece by a British destroyer, sent to school in England, and then his military service, named in dispatches, is an exemplary record of a young man who took control of his life and put it to public good in what were very bleak times for Europe and the world. Then marrying Her Majesty the Queen in 1947 and becoming the consort for life, being so supportive and such a mainstay of the royal family in decades and decades of public service that many of us can only look back and admire with true admiration. Thirteen Prime Ministers, 13 United States Presidents and three First Ministers here in Wales—truly a record that will not be surpassed as we go forward into the future.

But it is also a record of celebration we should focus on because he was someone of such significance in supporting young people in what they did in their lives. The Duke of Edinburgh scheme has supported 8 million young people across the globe, and many millions of people here in the United Kingdom. In Wales in particular, 400,000 people have been put on the road to a future of bright prospects by the development of the Duke of Edinburgh scheme in 1956. And also the support of organisations here in Wales, such as the First Minister touched on, when he married Her Majesty the Queen in 1947 and made the Earl of Merioneth, to the Chancellor of the University of Wales to the patron of the football league of Wales, and many hundreds of organisations the length and breadth of the United Kingdom and, indeed, the world.

As well as reflecting on his strong support of wildlife and environmental causes, which, for many people, was way before their time in the 1960s and 1970s, it now has developed into the core theme of climate change and what we need to do to improve the environment and the climate and prospects of wildlife across the whole world. 

Equally, his service in the military, and in particular the Royal Navy, put him in such fine stead to support the military charities that supported veterans throughout their time. And, ultimately, one of my last memories of him was that picture with the Royal Marines in 2017 outside Buckingham Palace, where he stood tall with so many young servicemen, as if he were still one of those young servicemen. He offered so much to so many people, whether they were young, middle aged or old, and our thoughts and prayers are with the royal family as they grieve their mighty loss and the grief of this country over such a significant figure in all our lives.

There are many memories that many Members will have, but the memories that I have of him when he came to the Senedd and the interest that he showed at the three openings that I undertook with him here, in 2007, 2011 and 2016, are of a man who was always interested, always thoughtful and, ultimately, always considered in his judgment and in what he said when he spoke to people as he went round the room in the Senedd and afterwards. He will be sorely missed, and ultimately that stay that the Queen referred to as being the strength throughout her time as head of state will be a massive loss to Her Majesty the Queen in the coming years. But, ultimately, it is a life of service—public service—that we should reflect, and celebrate that public service whilst we mourn with Her Majesty the Queen and send our condolences and prayers to her and the rest of the royal family.