It gives me great pleasure to add my voice today to the tributes to Her Majesty the Queen to mark the seventieth anniversary of her accession to the throne. A Platinum Jubilee is a unique event in British history, and we should take time to reflect on the Queen's long reign and how things have changed. Most of us in this Chamber weren't even around in 1952; I certainly wasn't, and there's no denying that the world was a much different place back then. Winston Churchill was Prime Minister, a gallon of petrol cost 22p in today's money, tea rationing came to an end, and Agatha Christie's play The Mousetrap opened in the west end, which like Her Majesty is still going strong today, I'm glad to say.

In 1952, both my parents had been born respectively in India and also in Pakistan. They were both the children of my paternal grandfather being in the Indian air force and my maternal grandfather being in the Pakistani air force, and their love, dedication and admiration for the Queen has certainly trickled down to even myself. Then, post partition in 1952, both my parents were schoolchildren, as I mentioned, but one of the greatest achievements of the Queen's reign has been the transformation of the empire to the Commonwealth.

Today, the Commonwealth is made of 53 independent countries that work together to pursue common goals that promote development, democracy and peace. With a combined population of 2.4 billion, the Commonwealth spans the globe and includes both advanced economies and developing countries. It encompasses Africa, Asia, the Caribbean and Americas, Europe and the Pacific. Its strength lies in its shared values, diversity and commitment to racial equality. This has at times caused stresses in the organisation, with countries leaving or having been expelled, however, today, the Commonwealth remains united as a force for promoting human rights, racial equality and democracy in the world.

The Queen once said, and I quote:

'It has always been easy to hate and destroy. To build and to cherish is much more difficult.'

And:

'In remembering the appalling suffering of war on both sides, we recognise how precious is the peace we have built'.

The success of the Commonwealth is in large part due to the Queen, who as head is widely loved, admired and respected by all. We should not be surprised by this. On her twenty-first birthday in 1947, the then Princess Elizabeth said:

'I declare before you all that my whole life whether it be long or short shall be devoted to your service and the service of our great imperial family to which we all belong.'

And she certainly has delivered on that promise. For 70 years, the Queen has served this country and the Commonwealth with dedication and loyalty. She has been and remains a single fixed point in a fast-changing world, as 'constant as the northern star', as Shakespeare could have put it. The Queen's accession 70 years ago was the time of death of her beloved father and, last year, she lost her husband, Prince Philip, who was by her side for the whole of her reign, supporting and encouraging her all the way. Some years ago, the Queen did say,

'The world is not the most pleasant place. Eventually your parents leave you and nobody is going to go out of their way to protect you unconditionally. You need to learn to stand up for yourself and what you believe'.

Over the last 70 years, with Prince Philip's advice and guidance, the Queen has demonstrated the monarchy's ability to adapt to modern times. She is the most widely travelled head of state this country's ever had. At the time of Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee, the monarch was a remote figure seen rarely by her people. Today, the Queen has estimated to have met 4 million people in person. As my esteemed colleague Darren Millar did state, she has met over 14 UK Prime Ministers, exercising her statutory duties to be consulted, to encourage and to warn through her regular audiences, giving them the benefit of her unmatched experience. She has met every President of the United States from Truman to Biden, except one. In 70 years, she hasn't put a foot wrong, never complaining and never explaining. She remains at the heart of the nation, doing her duty and serving her country, and, Presiding Officer, I hope and pray that she continues to do so for many more years to come. Thank you.