On behalf of the Welsh Liberal Democrats, I would like to express my deepest condolences to Her Majesty the Queen, the royal family and all of those that feel the passing of His Royal Highness Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, most keenly. The Duke of Edinburgh dedicated his long life to those that he loved, to our country, and to the many causes that he championed. Those causes were numerous and varied. His commitment to environmental justice has already been commented upon this morning, and was espoused before it became fashionable to do so. But, of course, the most well known of his passions was indeed the outdoors that Dafydd Elis-Thomas just referred to, and the establishment of the Duke of Edinburgh's Award scheme, a scheme that recognised the need to support and develop the potential of all our young people, and to give them the opportunity to experience a broad range of opportunities beyond formal education—indeed, I would argue, an ethos that underpins our new curriculum here in Wales. Perhaps some of us were lucky enough to undertake the Duke of Edinburgh's Award, although I do have to admit, Presiding Officer, those two days in the Black Mountains for my bronze award were enough for me. Therefore, I felt a little fraudulent when I had the very great honour, many years later, to be invited to St James's Palace to present gold awards, on behalf of the Duke, to Welsh recipients.

But his commitment to children and young people and the causes of education went beyond that of his award. He was a patron of Book Aid International—a programme that looks to support literacy programmes across the world and looks to develop public libraries, recognising the importance of access to the written word in democratising knowledge. He was also a patron of Plan International, which looks to support children and young people in some of the poorest nations of the world.

I know that every time he visited the constituency of Brecon and Radnorshire he was warmly welcomed, and his visits were sources of great pride to the local community.

May he rest in peace, and may his memory be a blessing.